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Electric Boogaloo! – Jazz Ball To Raise
Curtain on Wigan Festival
Swing is in the air in Wigan!
The champagne’s on ice and the party togs are coming out to celebrate
the most glamorous ‘black tie and big band’ event the borough has ever
seen.
And it’s all to celebrate a very special coming of age birthday for one
of the most exciting musical festivals anywhere.
Set against the majestic backdrop of Haigh Hall, the Boogaloo Ball will
be the hottest ticket in town on Friday July 14 as it heralds the
beginning of the 21st Wigan International Jazz Festival.
The ultra-fashionable event is the first of its kind for Wigan but
organisers hope it will now become one of the highlights of the
borough’s social calendar each year.
“It will a great event,” says Wigan International Jazz Festival Director
Ian Darrington. “Mixing champagne and swing is the perfect way to kick
off 21 years of the Wigan International Jazz and Jazz in Wigan.”
Mayor of Wigan Cllr Eunice Smethurst will be the official host for the
gala event and all proceeds from the Boogaloo Ball will be going to the
Mayor’s Charity Appeal.
Following a warm welcome from the mayor of the magnificent steps of the
Georgian hall, guests will enjoy a champagne reception and musical
accompaniment from big band pianist Andy Gleave.
Andy will continue to key jazz standards in the Grand Ballroom as guests
settle in to enjoy a sumptuous five-course dinner and complimentary
wine. Post dinner, the Mike Summers Jazz Orchestra, which includes
former members of the Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra, will be getting guests
into the swing of things.
The 2006 Boogaloo Ball is sponsored by Lancashire Life magazine.
Managing Director Andy Phelan says: “We are very pleased to be
associated with the Boogaloo Ball it is sure to be the social occasion
in this year’s calendar. And we are just as proud to be working with the
festival for the first time. It’s an event that has put Wigan on the
international cultural map and attracts thousands of visitors each
year.”
Since its beginning at Wigan Pier in 1985, the Wigan International Jazz
Festival has risen to become the biggest and most exciting event of its
kind in the country.
This year’s headliners include some of the biggest names in the world of
music. From the fresh new sounds of the planet’s premier trumpet player
Roy Hargrove through to the time-honoured classics of Britain’s first
family of jazz Cleo Lane and John Dankworth with daughter and son Jacqui
and Alec.
This year the Wigan festival is also joining forces with the
neighbouring Manchester Jazz Festival to create the single biggest
musical event of its kind in the country this year on Saturday July 22.
“It’s a truly fantastic festival line-up,” says Ian. “We’re all really
excited about this year’s event, it’s going to one of the best so far
and it all begins with the Boogaloo Ball! I’d urge everyone to get their
tickets for some of the most entertaining nights of music they’ll ever
have.”
• Tickets for the strictly black tie Boogaloo Ball are on sale now from
Wigan Tourist Information Centre at £45. Telephone 01942 825677.
• The full line-up of celebrity concerts at this year’s Wigan
International Jazz Festival is: Dizzy GillespieTM All-Star Big Band;
Dankworth Dynasty; Monty Alexander Trio; Ben Riley’s Monk Legacy; We
Remember Clifford; Roy Hargrove Quintet; Lynne Arriale Trio; Pete Cater
Big Band and Georgina Bromilow Big Band.
• Tickets can be bought in person from Wigan Tourist Information Centre,
Wallgate, Wigan or by calling 01942 825677. Tickets for the Monty
Alexander Trio concert at the Royal Northern College of Music, will be
available from the RNCM box office on 0161 907 5555.
• Festival brochures are available on request from the Tourist
Information Centre. For regular updates visit the official festival
website: www.wiganjazz.net. All
artists appear at the Wigan International Jazz Festival by arrangement
with Ernie Garside Productions.
• The Wigan International Jazz Festival’s main sponsor is Manchester
Airport and is co-ordinated by Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust, Wigan
Council and Wigan Jazz Club. Other sponsors and supporters of the
festival are: Marketing Manchester; Nuttall Construction Ltd; Arts and
Business; Greenberg Glass; John Smith’s Ltd; Modus; Arts Council
England; AGMA; JJB Stadium; Lancashire Life; Cell Creative; Rotary
International; Wigan and Leigh College; The Galleries Shopping Centre;
Lesiuretec and Executive Chauffeurs.
-ends-
Notes to Editors
For more information contact Phil Green at Wigan Council’s Press Office
on 01942 827369.
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