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Remember that we have got another event coming up courtesy of the Stone Lions, The Duck Race and family fun day will take place on July 5th, 2009 at Westbridge Park.
The fun starts at Noon and admission is free to the park.
The activities include Nature Trail-Golf and Football Plus Quad Bikes Fairground rides Charity Stall Bouncy Castle and Refreshments.
So lets hope it's not 'Weather for Ducks' and the event gets the sunshine it deserves.
Stone Festival Weekend Success
Carnival weekend in Stone was probably one of the best in recent memory, good weather and a record attendance in Westbridge Park, with the High Street packed for the Parade.
The weekend started on Friday (12th June) when the High Street shops, which had entered the competition for the best window display to celebrate 40 years of Stone Festival, were inspected by the judges. Town Mayor, Cllr Mrs Jill Hood was joined by Lana Bellinger, the Festival Queen in 1969, and John Ferrie, one of the early members of the Festival team. 23 shops had taken part and the judges had great difficulty in deciding which should win the competition, but by a very small margin Clinton Cards was judged to be the winner. The Cancer Research Campaign Shop, Francesco and the Shoe Tree were all Highly Commended.
Carnival Day itself was warm and sunny - the Parade assembled at the ABB factory in the Oulton Road, where the floats and groups were judged by the Stafford Borough Mayor, Cllr Mrs Jean Tabbernor, Stone Town Mayor, Cllr Mrs Jill Hood, and the Festival Queen in 1969 Lana Bellinger. This was another difficult decision for the judges, but eventually they came up with their results:
Walking Groups:
First: St Johns Ambulance Second: 1st Steps Day Nursery Third: 1st Aston Brownies Spirit of Festival Award: Christchurch First School
Floats:
First: St Michael's First School and Church Second: Tittensor First School Third: St Dominic's Catholic Primary School Spirit of Festival Award: St Michaels First School and Church.
Once again this year the Parade went through Stone High Street before assembling in Westbridge Park for the award of the prizes. Then an afternoon of fun in the park, with Helicopter Rides, the Funfair and all of the usual funfair attractions, a climbing wall, a chance to break some plates and a superb demonstration of gymnastic ability by the Kangaroos team from Tamworth.
Later in the Park, the top three acts from the Stone Festival Top Talent Competition had an opportunity to show off their skills on stage alongside Murphy's Marbles. Howard Wilcock, Paige Lambert and 'The Only Alternatives' (a rock band) rounded off the afternoon in a superb way.
Sunday saw the final of the Festival Bowls competition – a close fought encounter which saw Pauline McElhinney and Colin Scott beat Mike Archibald and Richard Burns 21-17 followed by a Festival Songs of Praise in St Michael and St Wulfads Church.
News from Stone Festival 2009.
What a splash for the Raft Race
What a difference a week makes – Sunday 7th June was wet and cold, but it didn't deter the people who took part in the Raft Race, indeed a record entry compared to recent years with 17 teams taking part, although only 15 managed to complete the course.
The raft race is sponsored by Cottage Furniture, who had a team take part.
The teams lined up at the start so that Town Mayor, Cllr Mrs Jill Hood could meet them all and decide on which team had the best presented raft. It was a difficult decision, but after some deliberation she chose the Lionesses (a team from the Red Lion).
The actual race was won by the Panthers who got down the course in 43 minutes, with the Abyss coming second in 46 minutes and the Winghouse Spirit third in just 53 minutes.
Click the images below to view some of the brave competitors
In Westbridge Park the Dog Show was truncated by the bad weather and the Car Boot Sale was abandoned.
During the evening the Festival Quiz took place at The Talbot.
On Monday the Festival Steeplechase and Dog Derby (sponsored by R A Knight & Co – Accountants) took place on a remarkably dried out Westbridge park – although the route took the participants through a short stretch of the Scotch Brook.
Click the images below to enlarge
The winners of the steeplechase were
U14 girl: Abi Wise
U14 Boy River Hand
Adult Female: Sophia Voss
Adult Male: Matt Jones
Veteran Female: Louise Woodhead
Veteran Male: Glen Davies
with 76 starting the course
And in the Dog Derby, 33 started the course, the winners were:
U14 girl: Lucy Crawshaw (accompanied by Jake)
U14 Boy: Alistair White (with Millie)
Adult Female: Grace Farrington (and Timmy)
Adult Male Dan Bigham (with Tally)
News from Stone Festival
Stone Festival 'kicks off' in the sun!
Stone Festival got underway on Sunday 31st May with the Junior Football Tournament out at Motiva Park in Yarnfield.
On a brilliantly sunny day 25 junior football teams played in a series of age group mini-leagues in the morning followed by a knock out competition during the afternoon. Each team had nine players in their squad with just seven on the pitch at any one time and some close fought encounters were seen by the several hundred people who attended.
In the under 9 age group Longton Park Rangers beat Eccleshall Eagles Yellow by 1 goal to nil in their final
In the under 10 age group Stafford Rangers were too strong for Stone Dominoes by 3 goals to nil in their final.
The under 11 age group threw up a local derby in the final – Nantwich Town One played Nantwich Town Two – and the latter team won by 3 goals to 1.
In the under 13 age group final Marsh Town beat Stafford Soccer School A by 2 goals to 1.
In each group the winners and runners up all received medals and trophies, sponsored by Motiva, which were presented by Cllr Mrs Jill Hood, the Mayor of Stone. All of the winning teams have been invited to take part in Stone's Carnival Procession on Saturday 13th June.
The event was organised by Mindy Davies for Stone Festival, with the officials on the day being provided by the Stoke City Community Programme.
Speaking after the event, John Sayer, Festival Chairman, said how pleased he was that so many people had enjoyed a day in the sun and seen some good football from some very promising young players. This is what Festival is all about, the community getting together and enjoying itself.
Click the images below to view the winners and runners up
Volunteers brave the Elements
"Despite torrential downpours, a team of hardy volunteers turned out on Sunday 17th of May to wild flower plants on Crown Meadow. Last year the Town Council created three 'scrapes' to create a wetland habitat. The plants had been specially selected as appropriate for a wetland meadow and were supplied by the National Wildflower Centre in Liverpool. Further planting sessions are planned during the next few weeks. Further details can be obtained from the Town Council offices at 15 Station Road or on 01785 619740". The Photographs were taken by Martin Robinson.
Stone Welcomes New Mayor
Pictured are Jill Hood and Rob Kenney being made Town Mayor and Deputy Town Mayor at last Tuesday's Council meeting. We wish both jill and Rob all the best for the coming year and would like to take this opportunity to thank last years Mayor Mark Green and his wife Kristan Green who were a credit to this town and really put their all into the many appearances and fundraising events that they attended.
Granville's Chef Killed In Tragic 'Hit and Run' Accident
Remember that we have got another event coming up courtesy of the Stone Lions, The Duck Race and family fun day will take place on July 5th, 2009 at Westbridge Park.
Stone Festival got underway on Sunday 31st May with the Junior Football Tournament out at Motiva Park in Yarnfield.
Pictured are Jill Hood and Rob Kenney being made Town Mayor and Deputy Town Mayor at last Tuesday's Council meeting. We wish both jill and Rob all the best for the coming year and would like to take this opportunity to thank last years Mayor Mark Green and his wife Kristan Green who were a credit to this town and really put their all into the many appearances and fundraising events that they attended.
