Happy and glorious!
Thousands flock to celebration of big day
THE Coronation celebrations in Southport were crowned by the spectacular King’s Feast festival in Churchtown Village.
Thousands of people flocked to the town’s biggest Coronation event on Sunday as families enjoyed a day of glorious sunshine.
Congratulations go to the organisers, led by Dorothy Taylor, and the many local businesses and other organisations which made this happen. Thanks must also go to Barron Financial Solutions, Tax Gem and Specsavers for supporting this magnificent free festival.
Bars, restaurants and pubs were packed, both inside and out.
Stalls and street food vendors catered for lengthy queues as they battled to serve people quickly enough.
Shops did a roaring trade.
The sunshine was glorious - very different to the incessant rain on Bank Holiday Monday!
An impressive sum of money was raised for the chosen charity of the day, Southport Foodbank, with volunteers on hand from Compassion Acts, which operates the service.
Visitors could donate after finding King Charles III, Camilla, William and Kate next to the stage and grabbing a picture with the Royal Family.
There was lots for children to enjoy, with a Coronation parade, dog shows, fairground rides, stalls, dance performances and more.
There was a fun Crown Jewel Hunt, with families invited to find the jewels hidden around the village and complete the crown to be in with a chance of winning £250.
There were superb performances from the likes of BabyBallet, DBA School of Dance, Hayley Murray, Chris Wright Dance and Drama, Off Key Choir, NS Ballroom, and others.
As a one-day event, it was a huge success.
Longer-term, it was brilliant at showcasing just what Churchtown Village has to offer.
Churchtown retains all of its historic charm, but there has been an explosion in recent years of exciting new businesses opening such as DBA School Of Dance, Signature Bistro, Arthur’s, RS Fine Chocolate, Little Sparks, The Dram Gift Shop and others adding to the firm favourites already there.
The King’s Feast was a great way to show off the very best of Churchtown Village.
Hopefully all the visitors from Sunday will be back very soon.
Lead organiser Dorothy Taylor, owner of Dorothy Mae Salon on Botanic Road, said: “My main priority is the community and bringing local people together for a fun experience.
“Future events will always have that at the heart of their plan along with supporting the local businesses and chosen charity.
“We’ll be looking for local businesses that would like to sponsor the next event ‘Churchtown Christmas Fair’ on Sunday, November 26.
“I plan to start finding the next food vendors and stall holders for that event that bring something different and complementary to the village on the day.
“If they’d like to know more they can email me at churchtownvillageevents@gmail.com”