Inaugural ‘Wrexham Brass Band Festival’ to fill town with sound of music this month!

A new and exciting musical addition has been made to the town’s growing number of festivals.

The inaugural Wrexham Brass Band Festival, organised by Ian Lucas MP in association with the Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham (AVOW) and Wrexham Business Group CIC, will take place on Saturday 29th June between 11am and 3pm.

It was set up following the success of the Singing Streets choir festival, also organised by Mr Lucas, and will see the town’s streets filled with the sound of brass band music.

Four bands have signed up to take part during the day, including the Wrexham County Senior Brass Band, the Ifton Colliery Band, Wrexham Salvation Army Band and Farndon & District Brass Band. They will entertain the public, free of charge, at Queen’s Square and Eagles Meadow.

The centrepiece of the day will be at 1pm, when bands will join together to play four songs as part of a ‘Big Blow’.

Mr Lucas said: “We received so much positive feedback about the Singing Streets choir festival, which goes from strength to strength every year, that I was contacted to ask if it would be possible to arrange something similar with brass bands.

“The Wrexham Brass Band Festival will, I’m sure, prove very popular. I have seen for myself in Wrexham and elsewhere that music and the arts can be used to reinvigorate town centres like ours.

“They increase footfall, are good for local businesses and give people reasons to come back into the town. I have worked on a report on all this in Parliament and Wrexham was very much in my mind while I was working on it.

“I’d like to thank AVOW and Wrexham Business Group CIC for their valued support with this particular event, and I’m very grateful to the four bands for agreeing to play for us.”

Established in 1996, the Wrexham County Senior Brass Band features local school and college pupils, aged from as young as 11. They have made numerous appearances in the National Music for Youth Finals at Symphony Hall, Birmingham, and have been on various European tours.

The Ifton Colliery Band, formed in 1916, competes regularly in competitions and are committed to keeping the area’s brass band tradition alive. They rehearse every Monday at Black Park Chapel, Chirk.

The Wrexham Salvation Army Band’s history can be traced back more than 100 years, when a band was set up to assist in the singing of hymns with the newly-formed Salvation Army Corps in the town. The current bandmaster is Colin Sneade, and members of the band cover all ages and professions.

Farndon & District Brass Band started life as the Jubilee Brass Band in October 1897, with 25 members selected from Fardon and Holt. They perform regularly at local fetes and concerts and are run by a small group of dedicated volunteers.

The brass band event will be one of many things taking place in the town centre on June 29, all involving AVOW.

The organisation will host their annual Volunteers’ Day, as part of the national Volunteers’ Week, which will see community groups and organisations come together for a fun day.

AVOW are also involved in a 12-hour football tournament hosted by Bellevue FC which will be taking place between 8am and 8pm.