Organisers are promising the Lichfield Greenhill Bower will be back with a bang this weekend.
Residents are being urged to turn out and support the event which will feature the traditional parade and a range of other attractions.
Zoe Heathcote, who has been organising the procession, said:
“The procession is looking longer than ever – the Bower promises to have something for everyone with great weather forecast too.
“The parade will have surprise after surprise, so come along and see if you can spot Mario, Luigi or even Boswell Bear.”
Zoe Heathcote
The Bower’s mascot has been out and about helping to highlight the fun on offer on Monday (29th May).
Vice chair Perdita Lawton said:
“He has visited many Bower supporters to bring them his furry cheer, including sponsor DME Tyres, Tippers, Wintertons, Three Spires Morris, Barnes Skip hire and Statfold Barn. He’s also been teaching newly-elected Mayor Cllr Sam Schafer some dance moves!”
Perdita Lawton
Organisers say they hope residents will turn out to line the streets to see the dancers, bands and other community groups passing by on their floats from 11.45am – as well as donating loose change into the collection buckets to help support local charities.
For more details, visit the Lichfield Greenhill Bower website.
Everyone should come out and support the Bower. It’s a fantastically unique Lichfield event which has been preserved for hundred of years and would be such a shame if we are responsible for losing it. Support Lichfield!
The Bower is the reason I leave Lichfield for the day, in this day and age it is to expensive.
I attended today and it was really good. Procession was great and lots of attractions. Some very good charities took part and it was also great to see the Lichfield Litter Legends in there too! Nice and busy which can only be good for Lichfield. Well done all who arranged this. Keep it going!
A memo to the organisers. Where I stood, the staff with collection buckets were joyfully following the procession in the road. The people with donation money were on the pavement………..
Make a note for next year. Otherwise most enjoyable. Thanks to all.
Can anyone else understand why so many Lichfield shops close on days like today when the place is packed with people with the Bower on? I’ve seen people on Twitter saying the same. They say retail is struggling but they hardly help themselves do they? Massive missed opportunity. Lichfield was heaving. Closing on bank holiday Mondays especially when events are on like today is bonkers. More shops should open on Sundays too when the majority of people are off work.
@Steve Someone I know works in one of the shops on Market Street. She told me that during the food festival on Saturday 20 May, far fewer people than normal came into the shop. It seems that the people who come to such events aren’t in Lichfield for the shopping, and those who would like to shop stay away because of the crowds and stalls. So, as strange as it may seem, there’s not much point in some shops opening during a Bank Holiday event like the Bower.
@Steve- give them a break, they’ve only just got used to opening on Wednesday afternoons!
It’s not bonkers Steve, it’s simple economics. People working on Bank Holidays are entitled to a higher hourly rate or an extra paid day off. Imagine then running a retail unit and having to pay your staff more than normal to serve less customers than normal and you have your answer as to why some shops choose to close instead. Agree your point regards to Sunday hours and also wish shops would open until about 7pm at least one night a week. Lichfield is a ghost town after 5.30pm most nights.
Alica – closing on Lichfield’s busiest day is an odd choice nonetheless. Yet they’ll be open on a Tuesday afternoon when the place is dead. Doesn’t sound like great economics to me. The number of people I saw standing outside Fortescues for instance, looking in, was quite telling. They’d have made a killing had they been open I’m sure!