Local families and residents dressed in their festive best gathered at St Mary’s Church in Aylesbury for Aylesbury Town Council’s Carolfest on Sunday 10 December.
Carolfest has been a highlight in the Town Council’s free community event calendar since 2009 and this year more than 500 residents came to the hour-long singsong, which was hosted by Fr Doug Zimmerman and Dez Kay from Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio.
Families were greeted by a welcome choir from British Sign Language (BSL) learning group Hand Talking and enjoyed performances from Broughton Junior School Choir, Caduceus Brass Quintet and Aylesbury Music Centre’s Christmas Chorus.
Niamh Powell and Danielle Roberts from our adult choir performed a beautiful rendition of Breath of Heaven to launch the event, with piano accompaniment from Thomas Harrington. Broughton Junior School’s ‘Feliz Navidad’ received the biggest cheer of the night!
After 14 years of hosting Carolfest, Dez Kay revealed it would be his final year. The Mayor of Aylesbury, Cllr Steven Lambert, commended his “dedication, humour, enthusiasm and support of each and every Carolfest since 2009.” Together, more than 500 voices rounded off the evening with a spectacular version of “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”, giving him a fantastic send off.
Donations were also collected for the Town Mayor’s two chosen charities, Youth Concern and Age UK Buckinghamshire. A fantastic total of £722.45 was raised.
Carollers were challenged to wear best Christmas attire to be in with the chance of winning a £20 voucher for local restaurant, The Works. The winners were two young brothers dressed as Santa’s elves.
Residents from local care homes, including Lewin House in Aylesbury, provided gingerbread men which had been handmade and individually wrapped. Hot drinks and mince pies were enjoyed by all, which had been donated by local supermarkets Sainsbury’s Gatehouse and Tesco Broadfields and served by Aylesbury Matrix Explorer Scouts.
The Mayor of Aylesbury, Cllr Steven Lambert, said: “Carolfest was the perfect evening of singing and community spirit. A huge thank you to all performers, volunteers and guests who joined us in St Mary’s Church. Of course a special mention to Dez Kay who announced he will be leaving his hosting duties at Carolfest. He will be dearly missed but the Town Council is extremely grateful for his dedication for the last 14 years.
“The Town Council aims to make our events as accessible for all. Therefore, a big thank you also to Marie Biswell from Hand Talking who provided BSL throughout the evening.
“Carolfest concludes the end of the Town Council’s event programme for 2023. Thank you to everyone for joining us throughout the year, we look forward to bringing you more brilliant, family-friendly and accessible events to you in the new year.”
To find out more about Aylesbury Town Council’s event programme, visit aylesburytowncouncil.gov.uk/town-council-services/events.
Photos: Shuttersense
