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- Bunties, New Podcast, Character, and Exciting Competitions to Help County Day Spread Joy
The organisers of Northumberland Day 2021 – the fifth county day celebration - are promising to try to make the second pandemic-affected county day as exciting as possible, despite the ongoing restrictions, and to encourage people to help turn the county red and gold.
This year falling on Sunday May 30, Northumberland Day takes place 13 days after the reopening of much of the hospitality trade and organisers want to reflect the joy that will come with a return to something more like normality.
With that in mind, organiser, Catapult PR, has put together a range of new ideas for this year, which it hopes will be uplifting and fun.
Recognising that its normal hugely popular awards, The Northumbies, cannot effectively be competed for, it is commissioning their talented glass artist designer, Helen Grierson, based at The Old Bath House, North Broomhill, to create new trophies for 2021 called ‘The Bunties’.
These unique glass trophies will incorporate the joy of bunting and will be awarded to winners, within different categories, who go the extra mile to bring joy through decorating their home, school, venue or business in the county colours.
There will be ongoing uplifting news from mascot, Northumbear, and his friends NElephant and Oswaldain, who are this year welcoming a new friend – Heartley - into their midst. This hare character, bearing the Northumberland Day logo on her chest, has again been created by the talented Susan Perry or BearTonBorough, the designer of Northumbear.
A new Northumberland Day podcast is being launched and this will feature interviews with proud Northumbrians around the country and anyone doing something to help celebrate Northumberland Day.
Getting involved with Northumberland Day could be an ideal way for hospitality venues to get themselves back out there and attracting customers back and It is hoped that the podcast will be a great way to communicate people’s stories, resilience and plans for the future. All anyone need do, if they wish to be interviewed for the podcast, is get in touch and then have a chat over the phone.
Online Northumberland Day materials for fun and education will again be created and hosted at the website – www.northumberlandday.co.uk Competitions – some very innovative – for both adults and children are in the pipeline and organisations are invited to also get involved, offering prizes for other competitions and becoming part of the celebrations.
Social media channels will carry lots of news and updates and the ever-popular Northumberland Day Flag Challenge will be back, to reward someone who takes the best picture posing with the Northumberland flag.
“Things will still not be ideal this year but we will be doing what we can, bearing in mind the ongoing health regulations and our limited private resources,” says organiser, Jane Hunt. “Whilst we cannot urge mass gatherings and events, we can inspire celebration, fun and involvement, bringing people back together again to celebrate their shared identity and communicating a renewed sense of joy. That will be the ethos of Northumberland Day 2021.
“We are actually calling this year’s theme ‘Good Will and Bunting’, as it will be very much about friendship and hanging out the bunting after a very difficult time, about showing support for businesses that can open and start afresh and being thankful for what we have.
“Of course, we will promote any initiative that anyone can arrange for Northumberland Day and this may be something that visitor attractions wish to think about. Activities can take place in the 10 days around Northumberland Day and need not be on the day itself and our website generates phenomenal interest throughout May, so we are here to help promote what can take place.”
Northumberland Day 2020 became the UK’s first virtual county day, taking place just a few weeks after the first lockdown and having to completely change tack, due to the pandemic. This innovation won Northumberland Day 2020 the prestigious PRCA DARE ‘Campaign Challenges’ Award’, one of seven PR and marketing awards that the Northumberland county day has now won. Every single Northumberland Day since the first, in 2017, has been an award winner.
More information will be available at www.northumberlandday.co.uk and at the day’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Instagram channels for both Northumbear and Northumberland Day will be boosted or operate really for the first time in 2021.
Ends
Northumberland Day is the county day of Northumberland, England and is a celebration privately organised by Jane Hunt, of Catapult PR, with the help of many passionate Northumbrian people and businesses, not to mention schools and community groups. It takes place on the Sunday before the Northumberland County Show each May. The date for 2020 is Sunday May 24th and the date for 2020 will be Sunday May 30.