Southport BID feature by Andrew Brown Stand Up For Southport
One of the region’s best brass bands will be bringing Christmas songs and carols to Southport’s pubs this December.
Skelmersdale Prize Band, which came runner-up in a national competition earlier this year, will be playing popular Christmas tunes in a series of pubs in Southport town centre between 8pm and 10pm on Saturday, 14th December 2024.
In return, they will be asking for donations from members of the public to support their band’s ongoing efforts in the community.
Their idea has proved to be so popular that they will split into two groups, each taking a route of local pubs, and taking in as many venues as they can. The full list is below.
It is part of a series of events which are bringing the magic of Christmas to Southport this November and December which has already included Festive Fun Day.
The brass band event is free to attend.
It is being organised by Neil Walsh, who is the Lead Trombonist at Skelmersdale Prize Band; the Landlord of The Windmill pub in Southport along with Tom Hodgin; and a member of Southport PubWatch.
Neil said: “I love playing in a brass band. Every year we go carolling, and this year we wanted to do something a little different.
“Christmas is the biggest time for getting funding for brass bands. Being part of a brass band is a great hobby but the costs can quickly add up for things like instruments and hiring spaces.
“We are all really looking forward to heading into pubs around Southport town centre this Saturday.
“We will be performing some much-loved Christmas carols in each venue, and we will have a collection bucket with us.
“I hope the idea will encourage people to come out a little earlier and stay a little later and enjoy some time getting into the Christmas spirit with family and friends inside their favourite local.
“It just felt like a nice thing for us to do, speaking a little Christmas cheer around Southport and making a difference.
“Everyone loves a brass band at Christmas. There’s something special about it.
“We’ll have a different brass band at The Windmill 5pm-6pm every Sunday during December.
“People can come in and listen to Christmas carols while enjoying their Sunday roast festive dinner.
“We have won quite a few awards with Skelmersdale Prize Band over these past four years. We were North West Area Champions in March, and then in September we came second in the national finals. We all really enjoy being part of it.”
Venues:
○ Conolly’s Irish Pub
○ Farmhouse Kitchen
○ The Windmill
○ The Southport Tavern
○ The Pavilion
○ Crave Pizza
○ Enelle’s Glass House
○ The Southport Coaster
○ The Lakeside Inn
○ Coopers Bar
○ Occulo Lounge
○ The Cheshire Line
○ Kokomo
○ Tap and Bottles
○ The Grand
○ The Bold Hotel
○ Punch Tarmey’s
○ Royales
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