Wurzels Back To Wow The Crowds On The Grand Pier

Following the hugely successful Wurzels concert at the Grand Pier in May, the band has been booked to play again on Friday 11th November.

The last Wurzels concert on 21st May played to a crowd of over 2,000 fans in the Great Hall and was a sell out, with hundreds more disappointed. Tickets for the next concert are once again expected to sell out quickly.

After the last concert The Wurzels Tommy Banner said: “We had a fantastic gig with a crowd of over two thousand to welcome us onto the Grand Pier. We honestly did not know what to expect, because none of us could picture exactly where in the Pier they could accommodate so many people.

“However, the management and the staff did a brilliant job and when we came on stage it looked like a mini version of Glastonbury – and the atmosphere was just as amazing”.

Grand Pier owner Kerry Michael said: “The Wurzels concert was a great success so I am absolutely delighted to have booked them to play the Grand Pier again”.

Tickets will go on sale on Thursday 21st July. The first five hundred pre sale tickets will be available at £7.50 (plus booking fee) via the web link on our Facebook page.

From Saturday 23rd July tickets will be on sale at www.grandpier.co.uk or from the Grand Pier gift shops which are located on the first floor of the Pavilion building and at the shore end of the Pier.

A day to remember for Chernobyl youngsters

The Grand Pier welcomed 12 youngsters from the area of Belarus close to the Chernobyl border this week. The children come from poor communities within 20 miles of the nuclear explosion site.

The youngsters, aged between seven and eleven years old, were treated to free ride vouchers and spent the morning experiencing the thrills to be had inside the Pavilion building.

Belarus is a land-locked country, so for almost all the youngsters this was the first time they had ever seen the sea and none of them had ever visited a Pier before.

Grand Pier owner Kerry Michael said: “This is not the first time we have welcomed the Children of Chernobyl to the Grand Pier. It is great that we have now re-opened and are again able to give these youngsters a fantastic fun day out at the seaside”.

Their day trip to Weston-super-Mare included a ride on the famous donkeys, lunch at the Queenswood Hotel and a visit to the Seaquarium. The visit to Weston was organised by the Lions Club.

The children, who are enjoying a month long holiday in the UK, are staying with host families in the area. They have been brought over by The Children of Chernobyl charity, based in Wells, who have been bringing youngsters to Somerset for the past 20 years. The charity also supplies funds for village communities, hospitals and schools close to the controlled zone around Chernobyl.

John Price, Chairman of the Children of Chernobyl charity said: “We are grateful to the Lions Club in Weston for organising the day trip and to the Grand Pier for being so generous”.

Whilst the children are here they have medical and dental check-ups and there is evidence that a month in the UK strengthens their weakened immune systems.

GREAT GRAND PIER AIR DAY

The Grand Pier in Weston-super-Mare will be holding its very own Air Day on Wednesday 17th August.

First to perform on the day will be the Royal Artillery Parachute Team, the Black Knights, which is the official parachute display team for the Royal Artillery. They will begin their display at 11.30am. The five parachutists, who are all serving soldiers, each with between 300 and 600 jumps experience, will arrive in a Cessna 206 aircraft and will jump into an arena, which will be specially constructed on the beach.

The Black Knights will be followed at 1.30pm by the World’s only aerobatic formation wingwalking team, the Breitling Wingwalkers. They will perform a breathtaking sequence of acrobatic manoeuvres and handstands whilst strapped to the top wings of the team’s beautiful Boeing Stearman biplanes.

The team pilots will fly the aircraft through a well-rehearsed energetic routine of dazzling aerobatics and close formation flypasts as the wingwalkers wave at the crowd.

These manoeuvres include loops, rolls, stall turns and inverted flight. During this the wingwalkers will experience speeds of up to 150 mph and ‘G’ forces of up to 4 G.

At 3pm the Blades air display team will fly into the town. The Blades are among the World’s best aerobatic pilots, flying the ultimate in high-performance piston aircraft.

The Blades pilots are all former Red Arrows and they set up the UK’s only full-time civil formation team in 2005. One of the Blades first air displays was at the Beckham’s Full Length and Fabulous Ball. Their displays have been watched by 18 million people at over 150 venues.

Display highlights have included Her Majesty the Queen’s 80th birthday at Balmoral and the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Grand Pier owner Kerry Michael said: “I want to establish the Great Grand Pier Air Day as an annual event that people all over the country will look forward to and get the date firmly in their diaries early on in the year.

“I am delighted we have been able to secure such a varied and top quality display for our air day and I intend to build on it in future years”.

GRAND PIER WEDDING PARTY LIVE ON NATIONAL TV

The Grand Pier’s street party to celebrate the Royal Wedding on 29th April will be featured live on Daybreak and on ITV throughout the day. It will be the biggest street party in Weston-super-Mare.

Daybreak will be filming live from 7am on the covered South Deck of the Pier, while the first 100 party-goers who arrive before 7am in fancy dress enjoy a free traditional full-English wedding breakfast and watch the build up to the ceremony on outdoor screens, plus a giant screen inside the Pavilion building.

There will be live music, with bands playing all of the old favourites. The Grand Pier will also be running a Royal Wedding fancy dress competition with prizes throughout the day. The overall winner will receive a weekend for a family of four people in London, with trips to some of the Capital’s top attractions.

Grand Pier owner Kerry Michael said: ”We are kicking off our street party with a full English wedding breakfast, so if you want the chance to be on live TV and receive a free breakfast you will need to be in the first 100 people to get here before 7am – in fancy dress.

“We have the perfect setting on the Grand Pier for a giant street party, whatever the weather. We want people to come along and enter our fancy dress competition and enjoy the attractions, on what is really an extra day off for the whole country.
“Many of our older visitors will be able to remember the Queen’s Jubilee parties and the street parties to celebrate the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, but some younger people will have never attended a street party before. We are determined to show them how it’s done”.

School children in North Somerset are also being invited to enter a ‘design a crown’ competition. Entrants are asked to bring along their crowns on the day, when a winner will be selected. The winner will receive a £50 Grand Pier ride voucher for themselves and a £150 ‘new equipment’ voucher for their school.

Party-goers who wish to pre-book their seat on the South Deck of the Grand Pier can do so by purchasing a £5 ride voucher. To pre-book your seat at the Grand Pier street party, please call our Events Team on 01934 646155.

A wide range of food and drink will be available to purchase, including the favourite British staple of fish and chips.


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Pier of the Year 2011

The Grand Pier has been chosen as the National Piers Society Pier of the Year 2011. This follows on from the NPS presenting Pier owners Kerry and Michelle Michael with an Outstanding Achievement Award last November.

The Grand Pier now becomes the first ever pier to win the NPS award twice, having been chosen by members back in 2001.

Kerry Michael said: “We are delighted to receive this prestigious award on behalf of everyone who has worked so hard in helping us rebuild this magnificent structure, which we hope will be enjoyed by future generations for many years to come”.



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