5:51PM, Thu Jun 7, 2012

Blaydon Races 150th Anniversary Events Guide

By Nisha Joshi Location: Tyne and Wear

There are many events taking place across Tyne and Wear area to mark the 150th anniversary of the song The Blaydon Races:

Wednesday June 6

Blaydon Races Quiz Night

The Free Trade Inn in Byker will be hosting this themed night which will feature questions about 1862 – the year the famous song was first performed. Traditional food will be served and Blaydon Races anniversary beers will be on tap.

Thursday 7 June

Eighteen Hundred And Sixty Two On A Summer's Afternoon

A folk concert with artists performing songs by The Blaydon Races writer Geordie Ridley, as well as others, will be taking place at The Black Bull pub in Blaydon from 7.30pm. Tickets are £6.

June 7-10

The Hotspur's Geordie Beer Festival

The pub on Percy Street in Newcastle will be serving ales specially brewed to mark The Blaydon Races 150th anniversary.

The Crown Posada BR150 Beer Festival

The quayside pub will also be serving Blaydon Races anniversary cask ales.

Friday 9 June

Blaydon Races 150th Anniversary Concert

Felling Male Voice Choir will be performing the famous anthem as well as other traditional songs in this special concert at St. Nicholas' Cathedral. Tickets are £10.

Saturday June 9

Blaydon Races 150 5-A-Side Tournament

Complete Football in Gosforth is holding this competition which will raise money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

Blaydon Races Service Of Celebration

St Nicholas' Cathedral will hold this special service where there will be readings from the family of Geordie Ridley who composed the famous song. The Blaydon Races and other local folk songs will also be sung.

Blaydon Races Community Festival Picnic

The annual event will be taking place at Shibdon pond where there'll be live music hall-style performances.

Yesterday, Today and Forever

From 4 – 7pm there'll be the unveiling of a new sculpture in Scotswood Village and a celebratory barbeque.

Blaydon Races Celebration Event

From 1-5pm Grey’s Monument will host music and dance performances inspired by The Blaydon Races. There'll also be a mass singing of the famous song. The event will be followed by the start of the Blaydon Race outside Balmbra’s in the Bigg Market.

The Blaydon Race

At 6pm, this annual run begins oustide Balmbra’s in the Bigg Market, where the song was first performed. The race is now in it's 31st year.

The Blaydon Races 150 Meeting

Newcastle Greyhound Stadium will be holding this special event. Entry is free and a ham and pease pudding stottie is on the house.

Blaydon Races Anniversary Night

The Three Tuns Inn in Gateshead will be hosting a night of live music with a Thin Lizzy Tribute band who will perform a rock-version of The Blaydon Races at the end of the night. Tickets are £3 but anyone in historical fancy dress (think bonnets and cloth caps) will be given free entry.

Blaydon Races 150 - A Proper Celebration of Geordie Culture

A night of Geordie food and live music at the Ware Rooms in Newcastle. Tickets are £5. For more information click here.

The Songs Of Geordie Ridley

Local folk musicians including Johnny Handle and Jim Mageean will be performing the Blaydon Races writer's songs. The event is sold out.

Last Night In Balmbras

The site of the music hall where Geordie Ridley first performed the Blaydon Races will be hosting a night of comedy. Doors open at 7pm, and local comedians Gavin Webster, John Whale and Mike Milligan will be performing. Tickets are £15 plus a booking fee.

Geordie Night Concert

From 7pm Maple Terrace Masonic Hall in Newcastle will host a celebration concert.

Blaydon Races London

At the Betsey Trotwood and the Gunmakers in Clerkenwell. Northumbrian and Scots duo based in Greenwich will be playing both venues for the Blaydon Races day celebrations. Acoustic guitar-driven, fiddle-splashed, harmony-filled folk from Black*Scarr have agreed to play. The award winning BBC Worldwide staff choir will sing a medley of famous Geordie songs. A piper will be bringing the delightful Northumbrian small pipes.

Sunday 10 June

Ecumenical Service

From 4pm, a celebratory ecumenical church service and parade will take place at St. Cuthbert's Church in Blaydon.

Tuesday June 12

Blaydon Bash

A choir of children from Newcastle and Gateshead will perform Victorian Tyneside songs at this special concert from 7pm at Newcastle's City Hall. They will be accompanied by the Gateshead Youth Orchestra. Tickets are £5.