Great Northumberland- launches today!

Today sees the launch of ‘Great Northumberland’, Northumberland County Council’s cultural programme of activities across the county, which has been set up to help increase visitor numbers to Northumberland over the summer period and beyond. The launch is being held at Hexham Abbey today, kicking off what promise to be a great few months filled with some really exciting events. The programme will open with a showcase event in Hexham on 7^thJuly and will close in Berwick on 1^stSeptember. The ‘Great Northumberland’ programme is certainly a community event, with tourist attractions, businesses and residents all involved, whilst The Duchess of Northumberland, journalist Kate Adie and Commonwealth bronze medal winner Laura Weightman are just some of the names supporting the programme.   

Just some of the exciting events taking place over the next few months include:

·     7^thJuly- showcase launch at Hexham Sele and Abbey gardens, an hour long show with street theatre, live music and day-time fireworks

·     14^th/15^thJuly- an outdoor theatre production about what it is like to be young and live in Northumberland today at Prudhoe riverside

·     21^stJuly- a day of poetry in the streets of Morpeth, with an event to celebrate the Northern Poetry Library’s 50^thbirthday 

·     22^ndJuly- explore the skies and the waters with a sound and image installation from the North Pennines Observatory, followed by a talk by Robert Good 

·     28^thJuly- history comes to life at Seaton Delaval Hall, with music, performances and parades taking place throughout the day

·     4^th/5^thAugust- celebrating women both in the Roman era and today at Vindolanda and The Sill to mark 100 years of women’s suffrage 

·     12^thAugust- Alnwick Market place will be filled with music, song, dance and the spoken word as part of the 43^rdAlnwick International Music Festival

·     18^th/19^thAugust- explore the story of the Ashington Group with walking tours and talks at Woodhorn Museum 

·     19^thAugust- an installation on Blyth beach of over 600 handmade blue sail cloth flags illustrating the journey of Blyth’s Captain William Smith to Antarctica 

·     25^th-27^thAugust- a solo exhibition of sculptures by Joseph Hillier who has collaborated with a Northumbrian dancer to capture her gestures and movements through a fusion of ancient bronze casting and digital 3D motion capture technology

·     1^stSeptember- the Great Northumberland Finale in Berwick, with a community choir procession along the main street singing local songs, with an hour-long seated concert in Berwick Guildhall

http://www.northumberland.gov.uk/News/2018/Apr/Discover-our-land-campaign-to-be-launched-in-North.aspx