ROSSENDALE REVEALED
BARRY Hyde, member of the Promoting Rossendale Partnership Board, this week looks at The Crown Affair SUNDAY, July 1, sees the annual staging of ‘The Crown Affair’ organised by The Britannia Coconut Dancers. The Britannia Coconut Dancers have been an integral part of Rossendale’s Heritage for over 100 years and regularly perform throughout the year, often raising funds for charity.
The ‘Nut Dance’ is unusual and performed in a straight line. Each Dancer wears wooden discs or ‘nuts’ on his hands, knees and belt. During the dance the discs, which are made of maple wood, are struck together in time to the music.
The name Coconuts was given to the discs, probably, since the dance came to Lancashire and it is said they could resemble the protection to knees and elbows when crawling along narrow seams in the mines. The Crown Affair has become well established in the Rossendale events calendar as an event that showcases traditional dance and music.
The Crown Affair is held at The Crown Inn on Greave Road Bacup, OL13 9HQ on the first Sunday in July each year.
In addition to performances from The Britannia Coconut Dancers there will be a number of well-known dance troupes from around the north west and beyond.
These include The Rossendale Players, Wakefield Morris. The Flag Crackers, Az Kabile, The Saddleworth Morris Men, Malkin Morris, The Hebden Hill Millies, The Rossendale Cloggers, The Datchet Border Morris, The Medlock Rapper and The Bradshaw Mummers.
If you want to get a taste of Rossendale tradition then don’t miss this brilliant event. and it’s FREE.
For further information on the event, please contact Gavin Mcnulty on Facebook or Yvonne Harrison, landlady of The Crown Inn at yharrison@ gmail.com.