High Peak to jump for jubilee joy!

HIGH Peak communities are getting ready for a right royal knees-up, thanks partly to help from the Borough Council.

The local authority has awarded grants worth £3,500 to 19 organisations as well as spending £900 on a bunting bonanza for Glossop and Buxton Markets plus Higher Buxton and the town’s Pavilion Gardens.

What is more, the council is staging a string of blue-blooded fiestas of its own. The fun starts on Tuesday, May 29 in the Pavilion Gardens with a Young at Heart dance featuring 1950s music and afternoon tea. Dancers are invited to dress in red, white and blue.

The council’s regal celebrations continue on Saturday, June 2 with Diamond Jubilee Markets in Glossop Market Square and Buxton Market Place from 10am to 4pm.

Highlights of the majestic extravaganzas will include live music, children’s fairground rides and a free prize draw plus a special jubilee prize hunt. And, just for good measure, there will be fine foods and traditional goods alongside crafts and home ware.

Youngsters attending the Glossop market will also be treated to face painting.

New traders wishing to grab a slice of the action at either market can join in the fun for just £10, subject to normal acceptance criteria. For more information, call Kay Gore on 07794 768495 or e-mail kay.gore@highpeak.gov.uk. Alternatively, call David Murrell on (01538) 483470 or e-mail david.murrell@highpeak.gov.uk.

On Monday, June 4, the focus switches to the Pavilion Gardens, which is promising a street party along the Promenade. Green-fingered gardeners will be catered for with a jubilee sale of plants and crafts from 10am to 5pm on the Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday, June 3 and 4. Admission is free.

And, just for good measure, there will be live music in the bandstand from 2pm to 4pm on Bank Holiday Monday. To learn more, visit www.paviliongardens.co.uk.

Recipients of council grants include Chapel-en-le-Frith Parish Council, which was awarded £750 towards the cost of numerous ideas such as a Diamond Jubilee mug for pupils at Chapel-en-le-Frith Primary, Combs Infants and Dove Holes Primary; an inscribed bench; and the refurbishment of the Memorial Park bandstand.

Other awards included grants of £300 apiece for events planned by Hayfield Parish Council, New Mills Town Council, Whaley Bridge Town Council, Glossop Choral Society, and Dove Holes Carnival Committee.

Borough council leader Caitlin Bisknell said: “There’s no doubt that High Peak folk are pulling out all the stops to make the Diamond Jubilee a celebration to remember, and I’m delighted that we’ve been able to play a part by awarding grants and organising our own events”.