I Remember Walsall Illuminations, 11-12 September

I Remember Walsall Illuminations: An exhibition of photos and video at Walsall Arboretum Bandstand, 11-12 September

Walsall Arboretum bandstand will be open to the public this weekend (11-12 September) to host I Remember Walsall Illuminations – an exhibition of photos and videos about the famous Midlands light show which ran for 57 years in the town’s premier park.

The event is supported by Creative Black Country’s Creative Communities strand and coincides with Heritage Open Days, the UK’s largest grass roots festival of heritage and culture. 

The exhibition marks the 70th anniversary of the first annual Walsall Illuminations, which opened on 15 September 1951 as part of the town’s celebrations for the Festival of Britain. 

The Walsall Festival of Britain Illuminations, organised by Walsall Council, featured 3000 coloured lights festooning the Arboretum’s trees, as well as floodlit flowerbeds and eight jets of water pumped 25 foot high at hourly intervals by Walsall Fire Brigade on the Hatherton Lake.

The event proved popular, with 200,000 people reported as visiting over its week-long run. Due to their success, the Illuminations were repeated in 1952 and again for the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 and continued annually, growing in size and duration, until they finished for good in 2008, amidst concerns about financial losses and their environmental impact on the park.

I Remember Walsall Illuminations shows how the event changed over the years from buying in old Blackpool Illuminations features to using new lighting technologies such as lasers and working with local artists to create new attractions. It also includes  memories and images of some people who visited or worked at the Illuminations.

Exhibition organiser, Alison Maxam said, `The Illuminations are a big part of Walsall’s heritage and it seemed timely to organise this exhibition now as it’s almost 70 years to the day when they started. I really hope people will come along to reminisce and share their memories of this great event, which was popular with so many Midlands families during its 57 years run.’

I Remember Walsall Illuminations will run at Walsall Arboretum Bandstand on 11-12 September from 10am to 4pm both days. There will be another chance to see the exhibition from 19 October to 31 December at Walsall Leather Museum. For more details search Facebook for I Remember Walsall Illuminations.