To receive any petitions, comments and questions from the public including:
· Jim McNally, Baldock Big Lunch Committee
· Claire Murphy, Baldock Big Lunch Committee
· Tom Hardy, Hitchin BID Manager
Decision:
· Jim McNally, Baldock Big Lunch Committee, was in attendance to give a verbal presentation.
· Tom Hardy, Hitchin BID Manager, was in attendance to give a verbal presentation.
· A number of other representatives of Town BIDs and local organisations were present to contribute to the discussions.
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed Tom Hardy, Hitchin BID Manager, to give a verbal presentation on planned events in Hitchin for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which included:
· Plans were underway for the Platinum Jubilee events in Hitchin, with an initial meeting held in December and a further planning meeting held at the end of January 2022.
· Events were planned to span the four days of the weekend. There would be a big screen in the market place showing the Trooping of the Colour and the film The Queen on Thursday, which would be followed by a big band and patriotic songs in the evening and the lighting of a beacon on top of Osinsky’s.
· The Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire was expected to attend to light the beacon, as well as a representative of the Bowes-Lyon family.
· On Friday, Tilehouse Rotary would be running a carnival parade from the football club through the Town Centre, with food stalls and music in the marketplace as this is happening. On Saturday, kids craft activities would be taking place in town.
· Sunday would see the Big Lunch take place, with support of Wetherspoons who had provided picnic benches, and local businesses will be encouraged to offer outdoor service.
· The programme of events in Hitchin was largely intended to mirror events happening in London.
· Having looked at the souvenir programme from the 1977 Silver Jubilee celebrations, they would look at what events could be repeated and where possible include the same businesses who are still operating in the town. There was a possibility that a souvenir programme could be made to support these Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The Chair welcomed Jim McNally from Baldock Big Lunch Committee to give a verbal presentation on the preparations going into this year’s event, which included:
· Baldock had run a Big Lunch event for around 5 years and this year the date of the event had been changed to align with the Jubilee weekend.
· The Baldock Festival would start at the end of April with the Baldock Beer Festival and run through to the Street Fair on 14May 2022, with over 100 events planned during this time, and a Jubilee theme throughout.
· There would then be a two week hiatus to finalise plans for the Big Lunch over the Jubilee weekend.
· The Big Lunch would attempt, as in previous years, to use local suppliers from the town to provide food at this event.
· The High Street would be closed off for the Big Lunch. There would be a fun fair with 1950s/60s themed rides, attendees would be encouraged to dress up accordingly with a best dressed competition and appropriate music would be played by local musicians.
· Organisers were aware that streets across the town would be having their own smaller events, but this was seen as a complementary event to these, with around 300 attendees expected.
· The Jubilee allowed the event to take on a slightly different slant this year from previously.
· The organising team would set up the marquees and gazebos and would adorn these with red, white and blue decorations.