Bolsover Lantern Parade lit up the streets on Saturday 28th November 2016, with around 1000 participants carrying lanterns around the town, led by Santa and his sleigh, Bolsover Town Crier David Fish and The vibrant Handmade Samba Band. Crowds of people lined the route to watch the parade as it made its way around the town.
The Best Lantern Competition was judged by Councillors Pat Cooper and Paul Cooper, from Old Bolsover Town Council. The winning lantern was the Thunderbird and the three runners up prizes went to the Stag’s Head, Purple Wings (worn carnival style) and Dumbo. All schools were awarded a sweet prize from Paul Cooper; chocolates for all! To see images of the best lanterns click here
Michael Davis brought his new Illuminphonium art installation funded through Grants for the Arts (Arts Council England). Junction Arts supported the bid-writing phase in 2015, which was successful, and the interactive sound and light piece was located in Bolsover Castle outer courtyard.
We also had an exhibition on display in Bolsover Library during the month of November, displaying posters from Bolsover Lantern Parade spanning over 20 years.
This year there was a special finale event at Market Place (Cenotaph) featuring a new piece of music composed by international Paul Lovatt-Cooper. The performance was a World Premiere of the piece, ‘Valiants Arise’, composed for Junction Arts’ 40th Anniversary Celebration (JA40) and featured Whitwell Colliery Band and Handmade Samba Band playing together.
We would like to thank everyone who generously supported the parade including Bolsover Castle (English Heritage); Old Bolsover Town Council; Pillar of Rock (J D Wetherspoons), Bowrings Butchers, Bolsover Fisheries, and T.A. Page and Son who generously provided prizes for the Best Lantern Competition and The Co-op and Tesco who provided some refreshments for volunteers; Cllrs Pat Cooper and Paul Cooper; Bolsover Rotary Club with Santa and his Sleigh; Brimington Air Cadets and Junction Arts Volunteers for stewarding the event; and Bolsover Police officers for keeping an eye on things and walking with the parade.
