The Lord Mayor of Manchester will open the doors of the Town Hall to up to three hundred primary school children for a great big Christmas Party on Tuesday December 4.
Singer Chesney Hawkes, who is starring as Dick Whittington at The Lowry, will join the real Lord Mayor. Picking his way through the good, the bad - and the ridiculous - Dick eventually overcomes all obstacles to find his sweetheart and finally become Lord Mayor of London in this year's pop Pantomime.
Key 103 breakfast show presenter Chelsea Norris from Stockport will also be on hand to join in the festive celebration.
Lord Mayor, Councillor Glynn Evans, has for his year in office chosen to focus on young people making a number of school visits and receiving young people as guests in the Lord Mayor's apartment.
However, he didn't want to stop there and working with Primary and Special Schools across Manchester he will host a Christmas Party from 11.30am until 2pm. Each school has been asked to nominate two pupils, a boy and a girl from year three to attend. The schools are allowed to decide how they nominate the pupils.
The children will be greeted in the Great Hall by Bearemy bear, the huggable Build-A-Bear Workshop mascot, who will help host a number of games and competitions.
After having a Christmas lunch, children's magician Juggins will then pull a few tricks out of his hat.
The Lord Mayor said: "I strongly believe in the importance of raising children in a caring and loving environment and to give them the best possible start in life. I wanted to do something special for Primary school children in Manchester and I think this fits the bill.
"They will be able to see the spectacular Santa when they arrive. The Town Hall may be the seat of local politics, but it is also a public building and it will be great to have so many young people in the Great Hall to celebrate Christmas."
The Build-A-Bear Workshop will be giving out goody bags with Christmas presents in to children before they leave.
Mrs Keegan, Headteacher at Lily Lane Junior School, in Moston, said: "We have chosen a boy and girl who are always well-behaved and helpful. It has been really difficult to chose only two, but I'm sure they will have a great time and what a nice introduction to the Town Hall."
For more information on Dick Whittington, which runs from Friday December 7 2007 until Sunday January 6 2008, at The Lowry visit http://www.thelowry.com/ . Or call the Box Office on 0870 787 5793.
Media contact:
Margaret Blackburn, tel: 0161 234 4014