Bangor comes to life for Christmas

Bangor residents saw the town centre come to life at the end of last year as the city held its annual Christmas market on December 7^th 2013.

As stalls lined up the High Street, which advertised products like hog roast, spiced apple tea and a wide selection of jewellery, fairground rides were set up in car parks for the excited children.

A mammoth fun house took up a large section of the street next to a gigantic blow up Santa Claus, which shadowed an enclosure holding 2 reindeer, whilst inside the Deiniol Shopping Centre, parents formed a lengthy queue with their children as they waited to visit Santa in his grotto.

Crowds of people roamed up and down the street while Bangor University’s student radio station StormFM projected Christmas music out of speakers set up around their gazebo.

Angel

But the highlight of the day was the aerial dance performance given by Bangor University lecturer Kate Lawrence.

Performing twice throughout the day, Kate’s penultimate performance was scheduled to start after a lantern procession made up of local children led the way up the High Street, ending at Bangor Cathedral, ready to watch the dance.

Kate Lawrence, who is an avid rock climber, combined her skills from the sport with her dance skills, culminating in an awe-inspiring dance entitled ‘Angel’, which was performed high above the ground along the side of the Cathedral.

Success for Pontio

The procession and dance, which were both organised by Pontio, drew in a crowd of over 400 people.

“We felt it was a success,” said Pontio Marketing Manager Elin Edwards. “There were well over 800 members in the audience outside watching ‘Angel’, which is a combined number from both performances at 1.30pm and 5.00pm.”

Talking about how Pontio organised the event, she said: “On learning that the people of the Bangor Community Group were also hoping to host the festive celebrations in the city centre on the same day, we teamed up.

“We also worked closely with Bangor Cathedral to make it happen.”

Awe-inspiring performance

She continued: “The day was very much in keeping with Pontio’s goals to create a hub for dance and circus in the area ahead of the centre’s opening.

“Kate Lawrence combines dance with the equipment and movement of rock climbing to deliver an awe-inspiring performance high above the ground and using the vertical walls as her ‘floor’.

“Both an innovation of traditional ‘dance’ – again in keeping with our aim to bring new, high quality, innovative arts to Bangor.”

Ms Edwards concluded: “All in all, it made people stop and pause in the Christmas mayhem – and was ideal for the whole family.”

Bringing the community together

Bangor resident Jean-Ann Roscoe, 81, who was a rock climber herself in the past, said of Kate Lawrence’s dance: “I think she was very good indeed. It’s a new sort of sport, turning rock climbing into a dramatic dance type activity, and I’m all for it.”

Having lived in Bangor for 42 years, Ms Roscoe continued: “It’s fantastic doing it on the Cathedral here, because we have very little around it, so it’s brought people into town, into the shops, round the Cathedral, and altogether it’s a wonderful idea.”

Surveying the large crowd gathered around the Cathedral, Ms Roscoe added: “I haven’t seen so many people in Bangor for a long time! I think it’s a wonderful idea to bring the townspeople away from the televisions into the street, talking to each other.

“I’ve even met somebody who is a neighbour of mine where I live in Bangor. I’ve never seen her before, or talked to her before, and today I have met her thanks to this performance.

Bangor is reawakening

“I feel like Bangor was lovely when I came and then it died, because the shops closed and the local people that I knew disappeared. But it’s coming alive again, thanks to the Pontio group in the centre of town.

“Thanks to Pontio that’s being built, I think it and the group within the Pontio shop are going to really bring Bangor back to life.”

Second-year theatre students at Bangor University also presented a promenade performance which explored the concept of angels as guardians, messengers and guides along the route.

By Nicola Hoban

Assignment for university module: Practical Digital Journalism