It was fantastic to support Wrexham’s inaugural St David’s Day lantern parade yesterday evening. The parade celebrated Wrexham’s unique heritage and culture with the large, crafted lanterns symbolising this. The lanterns featured a steam train as part of our celebrations to mark the 175th anniversary of the Chester, Wrexham, Shrewsbury railway line which played such an important part in Wrecsam’s industrial heritage. There was also a miner’s lantern, a Great Crested Newt which is a protected species but has an increasing population in the Wrexham area and the beloved national Welsh symbols of a dragon and a daffodil.
In the lead up to the parade we held lantern workshops using recyclable materials at Ruabon through Friends of Ruabon Station, at Rhostyllen Tabernacle thanks to the support of Bushra Ali and with Marchweil Cubs and Scouts who helped carry the train lantern.
Other workshops took place within local primary schools including New Broughton CP, Brynteg, Watts Dyke, Maes y Mynnydd, and other community settings in Wrecsam – Ty Pawb, the Well-Being Hub, Alyn Waters and Minera Lead Mines.
The evening started with a performance from Wrexham’s Choir for Good who finished their set with the rousing sound of the national anthem to which the crowd all joined in.
The Wrexham Mayor welcomed everyone and officially started the parade at 6pm led by Band Cambria. A short route was followed down Queens Street, up Hope Street, under the Argyle Arch and back on to Queen’s Square.
Josie Rayworth, Community Rail Officer for 3 Counties Connected commented.
“We were very excited to support the first ever St. David’s Day Lantern Parade in Wrecsam city centre. It was a great way to start our 175th anniversary celebrations of the Chester, Wrexham, Shrewsbury railway line which has played such a huge part in Wrecsam’s industrial heritage.
It was evident from the fantastic display of lanterns this evening that a huge amount of work from the Wrexham community has taken place only adding to the spectacle of the larger lanterns.
Keep an eye out for more 175th anniversary celebrations from 3 Counties Connected.”
Hanna Clarke Group Head of Marketing at Groundwork North Wales said:
“It was great to see so many families and group of friends get involved with the parade. You can see a great deal of time and effort has gone into lanterns made in the community.
A massive thank you goes to 3 Counties Connected for supporting the parade and we hope that with the support of the local community, organisations and businesses we can make this an annual event.”
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