It is another big boost for organisers, who have Midge Ure as their headline act on Friday, June 29, and a fun-packed family day lined up for Saturday, June 30.

Last year’s popular ‘X-Factor’ double act Two Shoes, and Errol Reid, who was one half of the chart topping 1990s duo China Black, are among other big names already lined-up for the Family Friday extravaganza.

Steve Young, the manager of Northampton’s premier bingo venue, said he was “so impressed” with last year’s ‘Walk In The Park’, he wanted to show his support with an increased cash donation this year.

“This is purely a donation given to an event we think is a credit to the town, and in our own way, we want to play our part in helping local people have a fantastic family night out,” said Steve.

“Many customers I have been chatting to mention ‘Walk In The Park’, and tell me how much they, and their families are looking forward to it this year. Not just that, but the fun they’ve had at the event over the past few years.

“I’m all for supporting local events, for local people, organised by local people, and ‘Walk In The Park’ fits the bill perfectly,” said Mr Young.

Said Brandon Eldred, the chairman of the organising committee: “This is a fantastic gesture by Beacon Bingo, and I really appreciate it. The donation they make means we have more money to invest in making our event even more of a special weekend for the people of our local community.

“We’ve got a great line-up lined up for the Friday evening, with more announcements to come, and Saturday’s going to be a great day, too, and it’s when you get a vote of confidence like this, it makes all the hard work worthwhile.”

‘Walk In The Park’, which is now in its seventh year, is organised by Wootton and East Hunsbury Parish Council, and takes place at the Wootton Recreation Ground. Last year the event attracted more than 15,000 visitors, including a record breaking 5,000 to the Family Friday Night.

Tickets for the Friday family extravanganza cost just £26 for a family ticket (four people), or £12 for adults, £6 for children until March 31. From April 1, a family ticket costs £30, an adult ticket £14, and £6 for children. There will be a £1 additional cost for tickets purchased on the day.

As ever, admission on Saturday, June 30, which this year will run from 11am to 7pm, is FREE!

Tickets can be purchased online: www.walkintheparkfestival.co.uk, or via Wootton Community Centre (01604 705055)

Errol Reid will be at Walk in the Park this year

Errol Reid, one half the successful pop-reggae duo China Black in the 1990s, is the latest big name to sign up for this year’s Walk In The Park festival.

Errol, who now tours all over the country singing China Black’s big hits, and new songs of his own, will line up alongside Top-of-the-Bill Midge Ure, last year’s popular X-Factor duo Two Shoes, and some of Northamptonshire’s top local bands, on the Family Friday Night, June 29.

“It’s another great act for our event, and I’m delighted not just that Errol’s going to be entertaining our crowds, but was really enthusiastic about being a part of the Walk In The Park festival,” said Councillor Brandon Eldred, who is chairman of the event’s Organising Committee.

“China Black established Errol as a really popular performer, and though he now performs on his own, he continues to entertain audiences all over the UK,” said Mr Eldred. “He’s a great addition to our line-up.”

Errol and Simon Fung formed China Black in the early 90s, and among their fans was the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who invited them to perform at one of her Aids Trust concerts at Wembley Stadium.

They had a number of top 20 hits in the UK chart, and around the world. But their most famous hit was a cover version of the American folk song “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” they recorded in the summer of 1995 for the official England Rugby World Cup theme of that year.

At their peak, China Black sold approximately a million records worldwide, and they were nominated for a Brit Award for Best British Single in 1995.

For further information…

The ‘Walk In The Park’ event has established itself as one of the big family nights out of the year, and while it is very much a local community event in Wootton, organisers are delighted that it is now attracting visitors from all over the town, and beyond.

Tickets for the Friday family extravanganza cost just £26 for a family ticket (four people), or £12 for adults, £6 for children until March 31. From April 1, a family ticket costs £30, an adult ticket £14, and £6 for children. There will be a £1 additional cost for tickets purchased on the day.

As ever, admission on Saturday, which this year will run from 11am to 7pm, is FREE!

Tickets can be purchased online: www.walkintheparkfestival.co.uk, or via Wootton Community Centre (01604 705055)

Comms Group – formed in 2008, and now employing 38 members of staff – is sponsoring the wristbands that are given out with tickets to the event. The wristbands get festival visitors in and out of the event on the Family Friday evening, which this year has Midge Ure as its headline act.

“We’re delighted to give the event our support,” said director Paul Simmons, who set up the company four years ago with Matt Tarry. “We’re proud to be a Northampton based company, and this is a fantastic Northampton event, organised by local people, for local people.

“I saw for myself how good an event it was last year, I was highly impressed at all the hard work put in by volunteers to make it so successful, and quite frankly I wanted to offer my support this year, and this is my way of giving the event a personal endorsement.

“Attracting a legend such as Midge Ure this year is a real coup, but the good thing about this event is that the organisers make sure there’s something for everyone, and along with Midge, the line-up they’re putting together this year will make it a great night out, and a top family event over Friday evening and Saturday.”

Event organiser, Councillor Brandon Eldred, said the sponsorship support from Comms Group was ”a big vote of confidence from a top local company”.

He said: “I really appreciate the support Comms Group have offered, and it’s a tremendous endorsement from a company that’s proud of it’s Northampton base, and pro-active in the community.

“It’s nice to know all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes in the months counting down to Walk In The Park is recognised, and we’re all looking forward to another fantastic event on June 29 and 30 this year.”

For more on Comms Group, go to www.commsgroup.com, www.commsgroupcreative.com, and www.avoro.co.uk

Organisers have also decided to change the format of the Family Saturday Day Out, having listened to the concerns of local residents, who were unhappy about the loud behaviour of a small number of youngsters into the early hours. Now, it will run from 11am to 7pm.

“Last year’s event was a massive success, there were many positives, and the feedback was extremely positive,” said chairman of the organising committee, Councillor Brandon Eldred. “But obviously there were one or two things that we fell short of, and for the committee, it was a big learning curve.

“But we’ve taken much out of the experience, which will help us to deliver an even better weekend this year,” he said. “For instance, moving the timing of the Saturday event was a swift response to local concerns – sadly there are always one or two idiots who make a nuisance of themselves, and to address that, we’ve decided to finish the event in the early evening.

“To a point, we were victims of our own success last year, in that we under-estimated the numbers on the Friday night – we were hoping for 3-thousand plus, but to attract over 5-thousand visitors to our Family Friday night was fantastic.

“So yes, we didn’t organise enough toilets, it was acknowledged immediately, and we have listened to the feedback, and acknowledged constructive emails we received. The top of the priority list for this year was addressing that, and making sure our bar facilities are prepared to cope with the demand.

“As I say, the vast majority of those who contacted us had nothing but enthusiasm for the event, and remember, we catered for over 15,000 visitors over two days, and they’re all looking forward to this year’s event, especially now we’ve announced that we’ve secured the fantastic Midge Ure as our headline act, and the excellent Two Shoes, from last year’s X Factor.”

Councillor Eldred also said that one or two local people who offered constructive comment on last year’s event have since come along to meetings to share their thoughts, and in one case, offer some professional advice.

He said: “It’s a shame that a very small group of people are negative for the sake of being negative, and keep moaning about issues we acknowledged needed dealing with, and have done so. But maybe they’ve never had to organise an event like this, and don’t understand or appreciate the hard work and many hours that goes in to putting it on.

“It’s easy to throw proverbial stones from behind a computer screen, but I really do appreciate the input from people who have made the effort to share it with us in person.

“We have committee meetings once a month in the countdown to Walk In The Park, and anyone is welcome to get in touch with us if they’d like to come along and share their thoughts. We’ve offered one or two online critics the opportunity, but funnily enough, we’ve yet to see them!

“An enormous amount of work goes into putting on a fantastic weekend for local people, and the reason we do it is to see so many people having such a great time, as most of them did last year. I was really proud of what we achieved last year, and having learnt one or two lessons, I know this year’s event will be even better, and I can’t wait!”

Two Shoes

Two Shoes – X Factor’s very own Essex girls – are the latest star act to confirm their appearance at Northampton’s Walk In The Park festival in June.

Charley Bird and Lucy Texeira – who reached the final stages of last year’s X Factor – and have since been wowing audiences around the country – will line up with headline act Midge Ure, another big name act to be confirmed soon, and some of the top bands in Northampton on Friday, June 29.

“Charley and Lucy are great fun, great singers and great entertainers,” said Councillor Brandon Eldred, the chairman of the organising committee. “They’ll be just as big a hit with our visitors as Diva Fever were last year.

“They made a big impact on last year’s X Factor, and the proof of the pudding is that they’ve been regularly popping up on television since then, they’re popular with audiences, and that they’re in big demand all over the country.

“I’m delighted they’ve accepted our invitation to come and join the fun at our big night of the year.”

Charley, who was pregnant during her appearances on the X-Factor, and became a mother last December, and Lucy, called themselves Two Shoes because “every party needs two shoes”! They impressed the X-Factor judges with Louis Walsh telling them after their audition: “I love that you are fun, the chemistry between you two, and you bring a fresh energy to the show.”

The ‘Walk In The Park’ event has established itself as one of the big family nights out of the year, and while it is very much a local community event in Wootton, organisers are delighted that it is now attracting visitors from all over the town, and beyond.

Tickets for the Friday family extravanganza cost just £26 for a family ticket (four people), or £12 for adults, £6 for children until March 31. From April 1, a family ticket costs £30, an adult ticket £14, and £6 for children. There will be a £1 additional cost for tickets purchased on the day.

As ever, admission on Saturday, which this year will run from 11am to 7pm, is FREE!

Tickets can be purchased online: www.walkintheparkfestival.co.uk, or via Wootton Community Centre (01604 705055)

Walk in the Park Logo

Organisers have started work behind the scenes in preparation for this years Walk in the Park Festival which will take place 29 & 30 June.

With the headlining act already confirmed (Midge Ure) and several others to be announced, this years event is set to be one of the best.

Tickets will go on sale from 1st February, as in previous years there will be a discounted early bird rate if you buy before 31 March.

Ticket Prices

Before 31 March

Adult: £12.00
Child: £6.00
Family: £26.00

After 31 March

Adult: £14.00
Child: £6.00
Family: £30.00

On the day

Adult: £15.00
Child: £6.00
Family: £30.00

Keep your eyes peeled on the website over the coming weeks as more exciting news is announced.

6pm Gates Open

6.45pm Fake That

Woottons Got Talent

Diva Fever

S CLub

Curiosity Killed the Cat

The Real Thing

11.00pm Event Closes

Saturday

21.30 Anyone Out There

20.45 Dave Taggat

20.00 Symbo

19.30 TBC

18.30 Social Status

17.30 Judy Mooch

17.15 TBC

16.00 Shane Davidson

3.30 Dj Lynton

3.15 Wootton’s got Talent

14.30 Box Eddy

14.00 Preston Hedges Primary

13.30 Sinead

13.00 Caroline Chisholm Primary

12.30 Caroline Chisholm School

12.15 Caroline Chisholm School

12.00 Wootton Primary School

Dj Lynton

SECOND STAGE SATURDAY

17.30 Evangeline

17.00 Chasing Flamingo

16.15 Shannon Carter

15.15 Reignite

14.45 ” ” ” ”

12.15 Northampton Rock school

2011 Walk in the Park Sponsor

Organisers of Northampton’s Walk In the Park festival are celebrating, after being given sponsorship backing from Beacon Bingo.   A month before top names such as The Real Thing, S-Club, Diva Fever and Curiosity Killed The Cat wow visitors at this year’s annual Walk In the Park festival in Wootton on July 1, Northampton’s premier bingo venue has handed over a cash donation to help towards the event’s organisation.

“This is purely a donation given to an event we think is a credit to the town, and in our own way, we want to play our part in helping local people have a fantastic family night out,” said Steve Young, the manager of Beacon Bingo, in Weedon Road.

“Many customers I have been chatting to recently have brought the ‘Walk In The Park’ weekend up in conversation, and tell me how much they, and their families are looking forward to it this year. Not just that, but the fun they’ve had at the event over the past few years.   “I’m all for supporting local events, for local people, organised by local people, and ‘Walk In The Park’ fits the bill perfectly,” said Mr Young.

“I know someone who knows the organisers, and with that in mind I was happy to lend my support.”   Brandon Eldred, chairman of the organising committee, said Beacon Bingo had also paid the event’s printing costs, and said such generosity reflected the impact the event was having around the town.

“It’s a fantastic family event organised by local people for Northampton, and surrounding county towns, and the quality of the names we’ve been able to attract this year reflect the aspirations we have for ‘Walk In The Park’.   “But acts like The Real Thing and S-Club don’t come cheap, and this bonus from Steve at Beacon Bingo puts more money in the pot to make sure we can aim even higher in the future.

“The event is only a month away now, tickets are selling well, and we’re going to have a fantastic family weekend, with everyone looking forward to seeing our headline acts on the Friday evening, and then local bands to entertaining us the following day.”

This year’s ‘Walk In The Park’ takes place over two nights: the Big Family Night Out is on Friday, July 1, and the community festival on Saturday, July 2, when local bands get the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of a big audience.

The event attracts thousands of people every year to the Wootton recreation ground, and is regarded as one of the big family nights out of the year. Over 15-thousand people flocked to the event last year, and organisers are delighted that it is now attracting visitors from all over the town, and the county.

Tickets for the Friday family extravanganza cost £12 for adults, £6 for children. A family ticket for four people costs just £26. Admission on Saturday is free!


Tickets can be purchased online still, make your booking today!

‘Walk In The Park’ takes place at Wootton Rec in the town on July 1 and 2. And the Friday night extravaganza – which this year has The Real Thing, and Curiosity Killed The Cat as its headline acts – has quickly established itself as Northamptonshire’s premier family outdoor night out of the year.

“Having the support of our local BBC radio station is fantastic news, and we are absolutely delighted at their enthusiasm to be involved,” said Councillor Brandon Eldred, of the Wootton and Hunsbury Parish Council’s organising committee.

“Radio Northampton is the truly local station, and having their help and support in the countdown to the event, and their involvement of the two days of the festival, is fantastic news.”

BBC Radio Northampton communities editor Suki Somal said the ‘Walk In The Park’ festival is an ideal way for the station to be involved with a big community project, and is the ideal local event for them to support.

Said Suki: “We are very proud of our pro-active approach to big community events, and ‘Walk In The Park’ fits the bill perfectly. We know how popular it is with local people in and around Wootton and Hunsbury, but we’re aware of the growing interest in it from further afield in Northamptonshire, so it’s a great event for us to be involved with.”

The big name group join Curiosity Killed The Cat and the X-Factor’s Diva Fever in a star-studded line-up, with one more top performer likely to confirm his appearance at the town’s biggest open air family night out of the year within the next week.

The Walk In The Park festival is run by Wootton and East Hunsbury Parish Council, and organisers of the family extravaganza say their big-name line-up reflects their promise to make this year’s event the biggest and best yet.

“I am overjoyed that, in The Real Thing , we have two big name acts coming to join us on the Friday evening at this year’s ‘Walk In The Park’,” said Councillor Brandon Eldred, of the organising committee.

“I’m almost speechless, such is our fantastic line-up this year – there’s something for everybody of all ages, and that reflects what a great family event Walk In The Park has established itself as.

“We are not just talking about high profile groups, but fantastic entertainers, and we’re going to have a great party and a fantastic night out.”

The Real Thing celebrated their 40th anniversary last year – but they are still going strong. The soul band burst on to the music scene nationally with their 1976 Number One song ‘You To Me Are Everything’, and produced hit records for 10 years, the impressive list including ‘Can’t Get By Without You’ and ‘Can You Feel The Force’. Today, they continue to sell out their shows throughout the country, attracting new fans from the younger generation, and never fail to have the audience on their feet dancing.

This year’s ‘Walk In The Park’ takes place over two nights: the Big Family Night Out is on Friday, July 1, and the community festival on Saturday, July 2, when local bands get the opportunity to showcase their talents in front of a big audience.

The event attracts thousands of people every year to the Wootton recreation ground, and is regarded as one of the big family nights out of the year. Over 15-thousand people flocked to the event last year, and organisers are delighted that it is now attracting visitors from all over the town, and the county.

Tickets for the Friday family extravanganza cost of £10 for adults, and £6 for children, until March 31, and then £12 for adults, £6 for children. A family ticket for four people costs just £26. Admission on Saturday is free!