Uppermill Whit Friday Band Contest

When we arrived at Uppermill, one of the first things we were told was that the Uppermill Whit Friday Band Contest was being held in 6 days time. During the course of the week the local level of excitement only grew. Though we'd never heard of it, it was obviously a big and much anticipated event. Will picked up a program that told us it was the 138th annual contest!

The organisation was a bit baffling to us outsiders but we gathered that Uppermill was one of 11 villages in the Saddleworth area that holds a band contest on Whit Friday. The contests all start at 4pm and the bands travel between the villages in coaches. Each contest has its own stage and adjudicator. The adjudicators sit in vans or nearby houses so they can listen but not see who is playing. Each contest has its own cash prizes, including some for deportment, but if bands take part in 6 or more village contests they are eligible for the grand prize. Apparently each village and contest has its own unique style so visitors are advised to do their research and find one that suits them. Each contest starts with the bands marching through the streets before performing their competition piece on stage.

As well as holding its own band contest in the late afternoon, Uppermill is the destination of the morning Whit Walks. Several villages walk into the town centre with their church banners and village bands before congregating in the centre for a joint church service.

We'd not come across this festival before but according to Wikipedia it is particularly strong in the manufacturing towns of North West England. Events are held in Stalybridge, Uppermill and Mossley and are internationally renowned. They even have their own Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whit_Friday

We heard the first strains just after 9am and the intermittent music continued until about 10:30pm. A lot of traditional tunes were played alongside more contemporary pieces like The Village People's YMCA. The general hubbub of visitors and competitors died down after midnight so it was a long day. Ironically the walks first originated as a distraction from the drinking, gambling and 'demoralising recreations' of youths attending Manchester Horse Races. It sounded to us as if there was quite a lot of drinking and demoralising recreations going on in and around the local hostelries 🍻

Will popped down a few times. He enjoyed the marching and the music but there was far more time spent hanging around waiting for each song to start, which put him off staying for too long. Vicky could hear the music from the boat and it was fun to start with but wasn't really her thing. Nonetheless we are glad we stayed for this huge cultural event. With over 1000 spectators in Uppermill alone it is obviously a massive deal in the North West and something we'd never come across before. Just one of the reasons we love to travel!Leia mais