More Music’s annual celebration of community and light returns to the West End of Morecambe on Saturday 7 December with the support of a £3,500 grant from Morecambe Town Council.
The annual event sees the West End community come together to welcome in the festive season with a captivating display of light and music. The Baybeat Streetband will lead a parade of beautiful home-made paper lanterns in a procession winding around the neighbourhood’s residential streets, creating a warm glow on a cold winter’s night. Before and after the procession crowds will be entertained by professional and community artists outside More Music and invited to join the rest of the community in song.
The grant from Morecambe Town Council will help secure artists for the parade and facilitate three free-to-attend lantern-making workshops, held at More Music on Saturday 23, Sunday 24, and Saturday 30 November. More Music will also be delivering workshops with several local primary schools in the run-up to the event, enabling 90 children to participate in creative activity and play a meaningful part in the parade.
Ben McCabe, Creative Producer at More Music, said, ‘This warm and welcoming event brings our neighbours and the wider community together for a joyful celebration enjoyed by participants and observers alike. People have the opportunity to express their creativity and pride in the West End of Morecambe as they process through the streets with lanterns they’ve crafted themselves in workshops running up to the night. We are grateful for the support of the Town Council helping to make this possible.’
Lee Bradbury, chair of Morecambe Town Council’s Festivals, Sponsorships and Events Committee, said, ‘The West End Winter Lantern Procession is a truly uplifting and heart-warming event, created by and for members of the local community. The creativity on display is spectacular and it can’t fail to put you in the Christmas spirit. We are proud to support More Music and the festival with this grant.’
Lantern-making workshops are free to attend, with all materials and tools provided. Places can be booked on the More Music website.
The West End Winter Lantern Procession departs from More Music at 6pm on Saturday 7 December.