The First Festival of Romance SUMMARY
The First Ever Chester Festival of Romance.
Always keen to try new ideas and surge ahead with new concepts, the people of Chester have just finished celebrating the first ever England’s first ever Festival of Romance. So how did it go?
From the Roman Extravaganza Launch Party next to the River Dee, to the emotional Wedding Rededication service in Chester Cathedral on Sunday, Cestrians everywhere joined together to participate in romantic events throughout the city. However, it was not just the locals that enjoyed it.
Almost all events were attended by people from the wider area: such as speed daters from Bebbington and chocolate lovers from North Wales, all keen to take advantage of the excitement, love and romance of England’s most romantic city. The Lovers’ Leap Event, arguably one of the high profile events, was a triumph, with the Town Crier and Blackthunder Irene from MFM Radio making a tandem leap. This was in aid of the British Heart Foundation, Nicky Hughes from the BHF commented,
“Absolutely fantastic, it went really well, and hopefully in the future it will grow and grow as more people get involved. I had a very good response from the people in the city centre and for the first year it was great. Obviously one problem is that it is a very difficult event to visualise, but we have some really good photos from this year, and so many saw it, it should be all the better next time around.”
The special film nights at the Odeon were extremely popular, as were the meal deals and offers that many of our city’s hotel, restaurants and bars provided. The Safeway Singles Night was so successful that they are considering holding a regular night dedicated to singletons on the look out for love, whilst the Creation Station at Malpas saw many budding artists eager to create a piece of art for their loved one. The Chocolate Appreciation Evening was a sell out and organisers of the Gateway Speed Dating reported that they could have run two sessions
for the 30-40 yr olds, as it was so over-subscribed.
All in all, for the first Festival of it’s kind it appears to have successfully captured people’s imaginations. Yvonne and Andy Lee won their very own love song, composed by singer/songwriter Nerys Atkins, at the Romance Fayre and are delighted. Yvonne said,
“I think that this Festival is a great idea. Chester in February can often be dull and gloomy after Christmas and New Year and before spring properly arrives, but this has really brightened it up! We haven’t talked to Nerys yet about our song, but are both looking forward to hearing the finished result!”
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