Town gearing up for St George’s Dayfun

MEGANJONES megan.jones@mnamedia.co.uk

Newportisgearing up forits 10th St George’s Daycelebration.

Foroveradecade, theEnglish patronsaint’s dayhas been celebratedinNewport with extra gusto. Each year,hundreds of residents andvisitorslinethe pavementstowatch theparadewhich includes dozens of thetown’schildren,dressed as tiny dragonsand St Georges,marchingdownthe high street

Theprocession is followed by alivedragonslaying before the dragon is turned into sausages andhandedout to thecrowd

Jugglers,buskers,Morrisdancersand street performers provide afew hoursofentertainment in theannualevent that hasbeen describedbyorganisers as apicturesque Englishvillage event.

This year,onApril 22,the tower of St Nicholas’s Church in the town will also be open,for anyone interested in findingout more about theart of bell ringing.

Forthose with alittlemoreenergy,the public is also invitedto climbtothe topofthe towerto catcha glimpse of thetownfroma differentperspective

Thechurch’sbellringers will be on hand to show visitors the ropes,withthe opportunityto have agoatchiming abell.

Amonth-longfundraiser marked thecountdown to thecelebrations, with businesses around thetowncollectingspare change to fund localcharities.Residents andvisitorstoNewport areencouraged to drop theirspare change inthe brightred buckets, aiming to raisea‘mileofcash’

Inspired by thehistoricmileof pennies, atradition that would seepennies linedback-to-back for amilethroughoutthe town,fundraisers arehopingtoraise athousand pounds forlocal charities.

In thepast, donationshave helped fund Newport’sX-ray appeal, thefoodbank,and some of thetown’schildren’s clubs.

TheStGeorges Daycelebration will take placeonSaturday, April 22 from 10am.The high street will be closedfrom12pmuntil 1.15pm to allowfor thefestivities

Thetower at St Nicholas’s will be open from 10am to 11.30amand 1pmto2.30pm

Thosewishing to join in with theprocession areencouragedto contactNewport Town Council.