Shops urged to enter Christmas windows competition

* Sion Corn arrives for the annual Christmas festival.

Shops in Llangollen town centre are being encouraged to enter a competition to find the most attractive window displays in the run-up to Chistmas.

It’s being organised as part of the annual Christmas festival, which this year will be held on Saturday November 30.

Prizes and certificates are up for grabs for the most attractive displays which will be judged by the town’s mayor and deputy mayor.

Town crier and town councillor Austin “Chem” Cheminais, who chairs the Christmas Festival committee, said: “Our family orientated festival attracts over 2,000 people into Llangollen town centre and in recent years feedback has been extremely positive.

“The Christmas shopping experience offered by local traders is an important element of our success.

“In the busy Christmas period, there is nothing more important than the Christmas shop front or business window display to attract customers through the door and create a colourful and festive experience for shoppers.”

He added: “Once again Llangollen Christmas Festival is hoping that shop owners will join in and will be awarding certificates and prizes for the most attractive displays

“Judging will take place in the week beginning December 2.

“Windows will be judged by our mayor Cllr Jon Haddy and our deputy mayor Cllr Issy Richards.

“Judging will reflect on windows that capture the imagination and embrace all things festive. The more Christmassy the better.”

The winning window will be announced on llanblogger and other local social media and prizes will be awarded the following week.

Dementia aware business breakfast planned

Denbighshire Voluntary Sevices Council (DVSC) is hosting the next Dementia Aware Business Breakfast at St Collen's Community Hall, Regent Street, Llangollen, LL20 8PL on Wednesday 27th November, from 8.30am until 10.30am, in partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses.

The free event includes a healthy breakfast and time for networking and community focused conversations.

To confirm your interest in attending this FREE event, please follow this link: bit.ly/DementiaAwareLlangollen

Or call Maisie, DVSC's Marketing & Impact Assistant on 01824 702 441.

Information about how your business can play a role in creating an inclusive community can be found in DVSC leaflets. Alternatively, you can contact Mair Davies, Volunteering and Wellbeing Development Officer, on 01824 702 441 to learn about the programme.

If you cannot attend but wish to be informed of future events please follow our Eventbrite page and this will automatically notify you of upcoming events.

Tourist centre launches Christmas quiz

For the 13th year Llangollen Tourist Information Centre will be producing a Christmas quiz on behalf of Cancer Research UK.  

A TIC spokesperson said: "Once again it should be fun for all the family and you could even consider including it in Christmas cards to friends.  

"From 1st December, copies (£1) will be obtainable from the Tourist Information Centre in Castle Street.  Thank you for your support – and good luck."

Shea presents songs from the shows at St John's

Talented young singer Shea Ferron (pictured) featured in the first of a series of free afternoon recitals to be hosted by the Vicar of Llangollen, Father Lee Taylor, at St John's Church in Abbey Road.

Shea, who is doing more and more performances in the area, presented a programme of songs from major shows including Chess, Les Miserables and A Chorus  Line, concentrating on power-ballads such as Bring Him Home.

Town Council announces more free parking

Llangollen Town Council has just announced an extra measure to help with parking in the run-up to Christmas.

Earlier this week Denbighshire County Council unveiled a scheme to allow free parking after 3pm in various town centres, including Llangollen, every day between November 21 and December 31.

The town council yesterday announced that, in addition, there will be free parking each Saturday until December 21 and on Christmas Eve (Tuesday December 24) between 8am and 5pm.
See the sign above.

Llan music teacher to direct West End show

* Elen Mair Roberts is to be musical director on Voices From the Valley in London next April. 

A busy music teacher from Llangollen has been chosen to mastermind the melodies of a musical theatre show in London’s West End in aid of a charity which aims to prevent suicides.

Elen Mair Roberts, who runs two Flintshire youth choirs and has been musical director of countless smash-hit amateur productions around north Wales, has been chosen to wield the baton for Voices From the Valley, billed as the ultimate musical theatre cabaret, which runs at the Above the Arts theatre club in Leicester Square on Sunday, April 5 next year.

With an all-Welsh cast, the show combines the nation’s favourite musical theatre songs, live instruments and a talented West End line-up

The cast includes Kane Oliver Parry (Wicked, Matilda), Michael Thomas Jenkins (The Last Five Years, Greatest Show), CiCi Howells (Jerry Springer, Saturday Night Fever, Threepenny Opera) and Claire-Marie Hall (Les Miserables, The Grinning Man).

Profits from the performance will be donated to Papyrus, a suicide prevention charity.

Elen has been a peripatetic music teacher for just over 28 years, specialising in strings, piano and vocal training.

She runs both the Flintshire County Junior Choir and County Youth Choir and recently toured Tuscany with them.

Elen also formed a partnership to run a memory choir as part of the NHS mental health campaign and was recently nominated for a Betsi Cadwalader award for services to patient wellbeing through song.

On the local amateur stage scene she has been at various times musical director for Llangollen Operatic Society’s junior section the Young ‘Uns and for the main society with their award-winning productions of Sister Act, The Producers and 9 to 5, which was nominated for an amateur stage “Oscar”. 

Apart from this Elen has been musical director for the Moreton Hall School productions of Grease, Little Shop of Horrors, School of Rock, The Addams Family and their latest production, Chicago.

On top of this she formed Llangollen Youth Choir, and was also in charge of music for Llangollen's show choir Stage2Stage.

Of her latest commission in London, Elen said: “I am very excited to have been invited to be musical director of this amazing show which has the most talented all-Welsh line-up you could imagine.

“It’s also in aid of a very worthy cause. Suicide is the biggest killer of young people – male and female – under 35 in the UK. 

“Every year many thousands more attempt or contemplate suicide, harm themselves or suffer alone, afraid to speak openly about how they are feeling.

“Payrus exists to reduce the number of young people who take their own lives by shattering the stigma around suicide and equipping young people and their communities with the skills to recognise and respond to suicidal behaviour.”

* Voices From the Valley is on Sunday April 5 at 7.30pm and tickets are priced at £16.75.

To book, go to: https://artstheatrewestend.co.uk/whats-on/voices-from-the-valley/?fbclid=IwAR22e2o-GeVXDyQKTROl2auPjVxF0wj7RkyU9yp8mq_PiUwODepes3VgmKo

Catholic Church's Christmas quiz