Miners’ picnic is back celebrating its anniversary
BRASS bands, traditional pipes and a ‘mini mela’ will see the community come together to celebrate 159 years of the Northumberland Miners’ Picnic this summer on what is set to be a day of celebration and remembrance.
The annual picnic, one of the region’s longest-running events, is set to draw huge crowds once again to Woodhorn Museum near Ashington on June 10 where pop-up attractions will include performances, join-in activities and plenty food and drink.
And besides celebrating local heritage and the area’s coal mining roots, the free-entry event will embrace South Indian culture with the mela as well as LGBTQ arts.
The museum is a fitting location for the picnic, being a former colliery site and having always played a central role in the local community as well as housing a collection of work by the famous Ashington group of miners-turned-artists who inspired Lee Hall’s play The Pitmen Painters.
Colourful banners, made by local groups, will be on display on the day of the picnic and – in keeping with tradition – it will begin with the miners’ memorial service and wreath-laying, commemorating those who died in the coal mining industry.
Four local brass bands – Ashington Colliery Brass Band, Bedlington Brass Community Band, Ellington Colliery Band and Jayess Newbiggin Brass Band – will perform together during the service. Then the picnic will take on a mood of celebration, with the bands taking to the main stage.
The picnic first took place in 1864, at Blyth Links, and has rarely missed a year since, save for during the First and Second World War; the general strikes in 1921, 1926 and 1984; outbreak of foot-and-mouth-disease in 2001 and the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. It is a much-loved event and live music is always at its heart.
This year’s programme will include Blyth Tall Ship Sea Shanty Singers, Northern Monkey Brass, and New York Brass Band. The mini mela, hosted by GemArts, will take place around the Pit Yard, and Curious Arts, which champions LGBTQAI+ culture, will deliver a floral pop-up performance.
Other family attractions will include demonstrations of Northumberland small pipes in the Ashington Group Gallery throughout the day, with artist and musician Ednie Wilson, from Gateshead, inviting people to try them out for themselves. He will also will be giving performances in the cafe.
Besides the food and drinks on sale in the cafe, there will be outlets including Scream for Pizza, Tandoori Naan Hut, Crepes Gourmet and Camerons Brewery. Also on the day’s programme will be drop-in artist workshops and rope knot demonstrations by a traditional skills community group from Blyth.
And adding to the community feel will be the displayed banners, created by local schools and young peoples’ groups with support from Ashington Town Council. Rowan Brown, chief executive of Museums Northumberland, said the picnic is a great way to celebrate the area’s mining history.
“Woodhorn Colliery closed its doors in 1981, but deep mining continued in Northumberland until 2005,” she said. “The industry has a 1,000-year lineage in our county and generations of families worked in mines across Northumberland and the North East.
“The Northumberland Miners’ Picnic was first established to bring coalfield communities together so that families could enjoy a day of music, sports, food and friendly competition.
“Today, the tradition is very much the same; with people from across the North East coming together to celebrate this hugely important part of our region’s culture.”
She added: “It’s a day of fun, laughter, and remembrance and it’s a great way to honour an industry that is still so important to the heritage of Northumberland.” The picnic will run on June 10 from 10am until 5pm.
While free to attend, on-site car parking will cost £5 per vehicle. A free shuttle bus will be operating between Ashington Leisure Centre and Woodhorn Museum too.
It’s a day of fun, laughter, and remembrance and it’s a great way to honour an industry
Rowan Brown