Valentine’s Opera at the Market

The arctic temperatures failed to deter shoppers at Newbury Charter Market from enjoying some Valentine fun. On Saturday opera singer Richard Stark and violinist Andrew Hubbard performed pieces from La Traviata and Rigoletto and classics from West End musicals, while on Thursday accordion player Frankie Chalet and mime artist Richard Knight entertained shoppers and market traders. The winner of the market hamper on Saturday was Daisy Barrett from Newbury who said it was “a fantastic surprise.”

Children iced Valentine biscuits while Saturday customers were able to purchase vouchers for £3 entitling them to buy goods at the Market worth £5. Sue Gallagher from Greenham said “What a lovely idea, I come to the Market anyway, so it’s good to get some money off my vegetables.” Tom Bassett from Newtown Road said “I usually come on a Thursday, it’s a great market and much better value than the shops, I came down today because of the offer and I love Opera.”

Town Mayor, Kuldip Singh Kang supported the event, “It’s a good idea to put the Charter Market on the map with events like this, the market traders provide a valuable service to people in the town.” Chair of the Market Working Group, Councillor Martha Vickers said “It was a very successful two days, a special event and much appreciated by many of our residents.”

Newbury Town Council Services Officer Caroline Edmunds organised the Valentine event with Newbury Events Manager Caroline Paus and the Market Working Party. Mrs Paus said “It went really well, we had over 300 people enter the Hamper Draw and people loved the music and entertainment, thanks must go to Steve Brind, the Market Manager for his valuable input.”