Northumberland Day on a roll as planning continues

Exciting events, initiatives, openings and community gatherings are being planned from Berwick in the north to Blyth and Haltwhistle in the south, with more people, groups and businesses getting involved almost every day.

Headway Arts in Blyth was the location for the latest Northumberland Day briefing for those wanting to join in the fun and celebrations.

The next meeting will be held in Rothbury, at the Northumberland National Park Authority’s Coquetdale Centre, between 11am and 1pm on Friday, April 7, and organisers hope to inspire more Northumberland Day activity at that session.

The information sessions give community groups, businesses and individuals a host of ideas of how to celebrate Northumberland Day, either on the day itself – Sunday, May 28 – or in the weeks surrounding it.

This year, the aim is to embed Northumberland Day at a grassroots level, so that communities celebrate all that is great about the county, independently of any funding.

Any business, individual, school or community group wishing to attend the Rothbury meeting should email [email protected] or call 01253 891114.

Attendees at the Headway Arts meeting heard how activity is already planned in locations such as Haltwhistle, Haydon Bridge, Hexham, Ashington, Morpeth, Berwick and Alnwick and how everyone can get involved, in a variety of ways.

Businesses such as Whitehouse Farm Centre in Stannington, the Newbiggin Maritime Centre, The Plough at Ellington and The Inn Collection Group of pubs, all committed to taking part in the Northumberland Day programme.

Headway Arts also revealed how it will be staging a Northumbrian afternoon tea, complete with stotties, sarnies and singing hinnies, on Thursday, May 25, as it too gets involved. This celebration will take place between 4pm and 6pm.

Eleanor Phillips, chairman of Longhoughton Village Development Trust, left the meeting with ideas of how to get her local community involved and an intention to get other groups and associations on board too, perhaps in a sporting capacity.

Jane Hunt, managing director of Catapult PR, said: “Our Headway Arts session was a very vibrant and uplifting meeting, during which the passion that everyone has for Northumberland Day really shone through.

“Events and activities planned through this meeting alone will see celebrations taking place from May 25, right through to the first week of June, which is fantastic, as it gives people every opportunity to enjoy several events during the Northumberland Day celebration period.

“We now want to see bigger businesses supporting the initiative and are calling on all schools to let their pupils get involved, whether that is by having a yellow and red non-school uniform day or creating artwork or written materials that celebrate their county and depict or describe what it means to them.”