Star studded line up at this years Hale Barns Carnival

THE organisers of the popular 2 day Hale Barns Carnival, in Greater Manchester, are excited to reveal the star studded line up to headline the across the weekend of Saturday, 20 July and Sunday, 21 July 2019, with its biggest line up yet!  The event will be packed with fun for all the family including amazing attractions, traditional fun fair, and artisan foodie village; plus an all star live concert each evening to perfectly round off 2 fantastic days:- Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp joined by:- 'Odyssey,' 'The Real Thing' and Nathan Moore, from 'Brother Beyond.' Daytime entry to the Hale Barns Carnival is free, from 12pm until 5pm, on both days. The evening concerts are ticketed, gates open at 6pm, with the concerts starting at 7.30pm. 100% of the ticket revenue will go towards community projects. Tickets for the concerts on Saturday and Sunday evenings are now on sale...

Organisers Hale Barns Events recently revealed that Spandau Ballet's Martin Kemp will perform on the B&M Stage, but have kept the other all star names under wraps; until now!  They are delighted to announce that Martin Kemp will be joined by the above headline acts.. Plus Martin Kemp will headline the Sunday evening concert with a Back To The 80's DJ set; as well as some Spandau Ballet classics to entertain the crowd.

Martin shot to fame as part of 'New Romantics' group 'Spandau Ballet,' selling millions of records worldwide with hits including:- 'Only When You Leave,' 'Through the Barricades,' 'True, and of course Gold.' A successful TV and film career also followed with roles in 'East Enders' and 'The Krays,' as well as TV appearances on 'Celebrity Island,' and judging on BBC talent show 'Let It Shine.'

Martin will be joined on the Sunday evening by fellow 80's heartthrob, Nathan Moore, from Brother Beyond. Nathan was the front man of boy band:- 'Brother Beyond,' who were formed in 1987 and had a string of Top 40 hits including:- 'The Harder I Try,' which was produced by Stock, Aitken and Waterman.

The disco and soul spotlight is on Saturday evening's concert with live performances from legendary bands:- 'The Real Thing' and 'Odyssey.'

Liverpool band and soul legends 'The Real Thing' features original band members Chris Amoo and Dave Smith. The group will perform their top selling hits including:-  'You To Me Are Everything,' 'Can't Get By Without You' and 'Feel The Force.'

Disco superstars Odyssey return to Hale Barns direct from the USA due to popular demand to play to their "favourite audience." Odyssey played at the very 1st Hale Barns Carnival in 2017; and they're set to wow audiences for a second time with hits including:- 'Use It Up and Wear It Out,' 'Native New Yorker,' 'Inside Out' and the iconic disco anthem:- 'Going Back To My Roots.'

Odyssey lead singer Steven Collazo added:- "We are so excited to be coming back to Hale Barns in 2019, you guys were crazy last time and we had so much fun. We can't wait to party with you all again in beautiful Hale Barns along with our friends The Real Thing."

Organisers Hale Barns Events are again inviting visitors to enjoy the daytime carnival experience free of charge. Complimentary admission is made possible thanks to the support of event sponsors including Benchmark Security Group.

Free entry until 5pm across both days include a vast array of more than 100 attractions, including spectacular falconry displays, magic illusionists, traditional fun fair rides, and artisan market. Live entertainment during both days includes talented local acts on the main stage, including award winning tribute acts of Bananarama, Status Quo, and Duran Duran.

The community focussed day event will open on the Saturday at noon with the Manchester Survivors Choir performing a special set on the B&M Stage made up of survivors and people directly affected by the recent Manchester Bombing. The choir was recently featured on the Take That 30th Anniversary documentary, on BBC, which saw Gary, Mark and Howard surprise the choir, at a rehearsal in nearby Timperley.

The day event will feature a number of special attractions and displays including James Bond's actual Aston Martin DB5 on display which was used in the latest Daniel Craig film; Spectre along with a spectacular display of super cars and movie cars worth over ₤10 million. With high flying Falconry displays, Shire Horses, a Kids Craft and Make Zone and a bustling gift and craft market; there is something for all the family to enjoy!

Famous faces from the world of TV And Film will be attending with the opportunity to meet and greet your favourite stars and even get a selfie, while listening to the best of local music and entertainment on the B&M Stage; Sponsored by B&M Bargains and Benchmark Security.

Max Eden from Hale Barns Events commented:- "We are excited that we can finally reveal our all star line up of headline acts for Hale Barns Carnival 2019; The weekend is going to be packed with fun for all the family with a fantastic live concert each evening and we have some very special surprises planned for both days. We're thrilled to again offer free entry until 5pm across both days, encouraging visitors to come along and see what the Hale Barns Carnival is all about before the main event on both evenings. Saturday's concert is all about disco and soul, while Sunday is going to be one big 80s party, don't forget to dig out the neon and leg warmers. We look forward to welcoming visitors to the third annual Hale Barns Carnival!"

For more information visit:- HaleBarnsCarnival.Co.UK.  Also the Hale Barns Carnival Location is:- St Ambrose Playing Fields, Hale Road, Hale Barns, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, WA15 0HF.

Woodvale Rally cancelled after 48 years

IT has come as quite a shock when, on 9 January 2019, Woodvale Rally Ltd issued press statements that it was cancelling the 2019 show and any further shows. The event started back in 1971 and rapidly grew from a small show at RAF Woodvale into 1 of the North West's major events. Due to health and safety concerns trouble hit in 2012, when the Rally was forced to leave its traditional Merseyside home, after moles unearthed asbestos at the RAF base. This lead to the Rally moving to Southport's Victoria Park and also moving from its August date to July, so it did not clash with Flower Show operations. Moving to the new June and July dates lead to spells of bad weather, which seriously affected turn out. Also as the show was on a smaller site, there were no flying model planes at first and far fewer big military vehicles. Sadly the risk of damaging the grass, with big military vehicles was a real issue. Added to this was restrains over noise and space also restricted them in other ways. But in 2016 and 2017 they managed to get special permission of the CAA to fly drones and some extremely small models, at the show's now location. This proved to be very unpopular and took up lots of space for very little return. So in 2018, they ran the show without the model aircraft. Sadly, the committee has now drawn a line under the show.

In a statement that has been issued on behalf of the Board of Woodvale Rally Ltd. it said:- "After 50 years, Woodvale Rally Board have been forced to cancel the 2019 Rally on Victoria Park, Southport, and any other rallies in the future. We were informed by Andrew Edwards, the Southport Flower Show (SFS) Chairman in October 2018, that due to an incident concerning a fairground ride that occurred during the set up of the rally, the Trustee's of the Southport Flower Show Company have taken the decision not to allow the Rally to be held on Victoria Park again. Several times we asked for meetings with SFS to discuss the reasons for the exclusion all without answer until we were informed finally by letter on 5th December, by Mr Edwards that there would be no meetings and no further correspondence would be answered. We have been accused, convicted and excluded without a fair hearing. Councillor Pugh met with Mr Edwards and others from SFS, on 21st November 2018 to put forward our case, to no avail. We asked Sefton Council for assistance but were informed by them that the running of VP was leased to SFS and we would need to deal with them. Over the last 7 years we have built our event around the park facilities, benefitting local hotels, restaurants and traders. We provided entertainment and facilities for 1000s of visitors, all profits going to local charities. To move it elsewhere is impractical and would incur huge financial loss. We therefore see no alternative, but to cancel 2019 and any further shows. We believe Victoria Park should be not be run by a vested interest with the ability to penalise others and make money for a private company from a public asset. The decision to exclude us from the park is not in the interests of the residents and public but is driven by the desire to turn the park into a Caravan Site, which is not what was intended when the park was gifted to the people of Southport. Because of the above events we will send copies of this notice to all Sefton Councillors and Southport MP Damien Moore. We call on Sefton Council to institute a full public enquiry into the mismanagement of Victoria Park, and the false accusations levelled against us."

A spokesman for the Victoria Park Management company, which is responsible for the running and the maintenance of Victoria Park, said:- "We can confirm that the board of Trustees informed the Woodvale Rally on 3 October 2018, that we were no longer able to accommodate their event. There was no contract with Woodvale for this year's event, or beyond. We consider the dialogue and correspondence between the parties regarding this matter to be confidential in the interests of all and with that in mind we would not comment any further at this stage."

A spokesman for Sefton Council said:- "This is purely a matter for Woodvale Rally and Southport Flower Show. We have not refused in any way to become involved, as the event is not Council run. As Charlie Scott's comment says:- ''this decision has been forced on the Rally by Southport Flower Show and its subsidiary company Victoria Park Events.''"

"We would love to hear from anyone who would be interested in doing a new show, via our Facebook Page. If you are interested, please message us. We would gladly give our expertise and help you to send up a new event, but Woodvale Rally Ltd. will no longer be running events. The information will be collected via a neutral 3rd party, an established local media group. They will collect all the names and information, then, they will see if they can get a meeting sorted so that all parties can meet up. Once again, thank you for all your support and kind words." a board member of Woodvale Rally Ltd added.

We would love to see any of your memories from this event or hear them and also here your views about the cancelation to:- News24@SouthportReporter.Com.