Successful Christmas Tree Festival in Antrim Parish

Monday December 4th 2017

There were some fabulous trees on display in All Saints’, Antrim, over the weekend.

All Saints’ Parish Church, hosted a very successful Christmas Tree Festival from November 30-December 3.

Proceeds from the The Son of God : Love’s Pure Light festival will be donated to Lough Neagh Rescue and Macmillan Cancer Support.

The festival opened at 10am on Thursday November 30 and that evening there was a free Christmas concert led by the Harlandic Male Voice Choir.

This was attended by the Lord Lieutenant of Co Antrim, Mrs Joan Christie, the Deputy Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Councillor Vera McWilliam, Dame Mary Peters, and pupils from Riverside Special School, Antrim Primary School and Parkhall Integrated Primary School.

Hundreds of visitors viewed the trees on display on the Friday and Saturday and on Sunday December 3 the festival opened at 2pm. It featured a Children’s Christingle Service organised by Connor Mothers’ Union that afternoon attended by more than 60 children accompanied by adults. Later that evening the church was packed for the Antrim Town Community Carol service.

Throughout the festival visitors enjoyed refreshments in the Parish Centre.

The Archdeacon of Connor gets all hung up – a very good likeness indeed!

There was much positive feedback about the weekend with comments on social media including: Amazing display of Christmas trees; Fabulous evening at your Carol Service; and Well done on an excellent display of trees, & the refreshments.

Archdeacon Stephen McBride, Vicar of Antrim, said it the festival had been fun for all involved. “From beginning to end it has been a really good effort,” he said. “”It was wonderful, the church looked spectacular. The trees were really imaginative and the festival brought people in from the fringes of the parish.

“It was also very important to support the Lough Neagh Rescue and Macmillan, and to involve so many schools. As a parish we want to look out towards the community.”