Community Awards: Best Community Event

Jun 18 2009 By Andy Hirst

OVERGATE HOSPICE CHOIR

THEY’VE sung their hearts out raising £160,000 for Overgate Hospice.

Now Overgate Hospice Choir, their March Hymn Sing and Christmas Carol Concert for the Elland-based hospice have been nominated for a Community Award.

The choir formed 12 years ago purely to raise cash for hospice.

It has 80 members aged from their teens to 90 from Halifax, Brighouse, Elland and even Huddersfield.

The voluntary choir performs four concerts a year including a Hymn Sing at Brighouse Central Methodist Hall in March and a Christmas Carol concert at Halifax Parish Church in December.

Overgate Hospice Choir, whose musical director is Simon Lindley, practice every Wednesday evening at St Jude’s Church Hall, Saville Park, Halifax.

Chairman Keith Scotford, 73, of Luddenden, said: “I’m very thrilled we have been nominated. Our role in life is to raise money for the hospice. We don’t do concerts for anything else.

“We would be over the moon if we won because not only do we want to raise money for the hospice but we want to raise publicity for the cause. It costs a lot of money to run that place.”

ST PATRICK'S DAY PARADE COMMITTEE

IT LASTS only one day but it takes a year to prepare.

Now the Huddersfield St Patrick’s Day Parade has been nominated for a community award.

Since the parade committee was set up in May 2000 there have been nine annual parades costing £18,000 to stage each year.

As well as fundraising the committee work all year round to secure Irish-themed attractions from the UK as well as Ireland