The Mayor of Preston's March blog

Before I reflect on my past month's engagements, I wanted to remind you about an exciting event that you are most welcome to be a part of.

The Mayor's Coronation Charity Ball

One of the highlights on the Mayoral year is the Mayor's Charity Ball. This year, as we welcome a new King, the event has been named The Mayor's Coronation Charity Ball and has a very royal theme.

The Mayor's Coronation Charity Ball takes place on 29 April at UCLan in the heart of Preston. Tickets are available for £45, or tables of ten can be booked for £400. Parking will be available on the UCLan Leighton Street car parks.

The Ball Reception will take place from 7pm in the Foster Building. Entertainment will be provided by the Intact Centre Choir, who performed to great acclaim for the Carols in the Chamber event at Christmas last year.

Guests will be seated in the main hall from 7.30pm where they will be served a delicious, locally sourced three course meal. The menu will be confirmed shortly and will be a choice between vegetarian or non-vegetarian options.

Following dinner, there will be a raffle and charity auction, followed by live entertainment and dancing until midnight. Entertainment will be provided by vocalist and DJ Callum Thomas with a series of live performance sets, and magician Paul Sylvester who will provide entertainment at the tables.

All proceeds will go to the Mayoral Charities, the Intact Centre and the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity.

I do hope you can join us.

March events and engagements

At the beginning of March, I had the honour and privilege of welcoming Preston and District Scouts into the Council Chamber for the presentation of the Chief Scout's Silver Awards. A big congratulations to all of the cubs (many now scouts) on their achievements. They all have a very bright future ahead of them! As a former Scout myself, it was particularly special to have the opportunity to present the awards.

Later in the week, I had the opportunity to talk to the Deepdale Prince's Trust Team at the Town Hall about our history in Preston and see some of the great regalia of the city. I hope all of your work placements went well!

I stopped by Preston College to see the work being done by Baxi UK and Primary Engineer with local teachers, who will be bringing some exciting new projects for primary school kids to get involved with. They'll be able to compete in building fun contraptions, introducing the next generation of engineers to the field!

On 4 March, we heard about the amazing work West Lancs Scouts are doing, giving young people incredible experiences and skills for life! There are also great opportunities for adult volunteering and for partnerships with organisations and businesses.

I was buzzing to open the Lancashire Beekeepers Convention here in Preston! Wonderful to see so many people helping our bees, who in turn do so much to help maintain a healthy and diverse wildlife. Not to mention producing delicious local honey!

What an amazing performance at Let's Go Sing! with schools from across Lancashire - with Preston represented by Ashton Primary School, Ribbleton Avenue School, Sherwood Primary School, Kennington Primary School and St Andrews Primary School. Great work everyone!

International Women's Day

On 8 March, Preston City Council was celebrating #InternationalWomensDay - and joining us was Beverley Adams, author of a recent fascinating biography of famous Prestonian feminist and suffragette Edith Rigby. Preston has a long history of women's equality, but there's more to do! It was also very appropriate on  #InternationalWomensDay that I unveiled a new blue plaque in Preston - commemorating Beatrice Todd, a local Suffragist and social campaigner. Beatrice Todd is an important part of our history and it's right that she is remembered and honoured. I'd like to say a big thank you to Preston Historical Society and Friends of Winkley Square for all of your hard work in making this happen.

We returned to Preston Playhouse Theatre to see the Preston Gilbert and Sullivan Society performing Iolanthe. A great show and a credit to all involved - not to mention social commentary still relevant today!

Commonwealth Day

March 13 was Commonwealth Day, and was particularly poignant this year as it marks ten years since Queen Elizabeth II signed the Commonwealth Charter and the first since her passing. The Commonwealth was always dear to her, from her famous 1947 Cape Town speech to her Platinum Jubilee. Today our international friendships are more important than ever as we remember our common bonds enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter - a commitment to developing free and democratic societies and promoting peace and prosperity internationally. And here in Preston, our international bonds remain particularly important to everyone with friends and family living in Commonwealth nations around the world.

It was great to have Red Rose Recovery and Changing Futures visiting the Town Hall. A big thank you again for all of the hard work you all do in and around Preston.

Also last month, I was delighted to welcome a delegation from our local Ukrainian community to the Town Hall. I had the opportunity to give them a short tour of the Council Chamber and the Mayor's Parlour and tell them about our history. I am happy to do my part to make everyone feel at home in our city.

I visited the #StopCE event at Preston railway station and had the chance to talk to them about the work that goes on to look out for vulnerable children around the railways. If you see a young person who may need help at the station, you can let any member of staff know - or report it yourself on the Railway Guardians app.

We stopped by Preston Markets to say congratulations to Derek on 45 years running Derek's Books on the Outdoor Market - a huge achievement and so many Prestonians (and others!) served over many years!

Record-breaking Scout troop

I had the pleasure of speaking at the investiture of the newest and record-breaking Scout troop - not only in Preston, but the UK!  Preston Muslim Girls High School (PMGHS) celebrated 122 of its Year 7 pupils being formally invested into the schools' new Scout Group named 'Deepdale Central (PMGHS) Scouts'. It is now officially the biggest all-female Scout troop to ever exist in the UK.

Last month we also joined the NFHW Preston Health Mela at The University of Central Lancashire. Great to see so many different people and organisations gathered together, helping to bring health care to the community. More than 20 years since the event was started, it's stronger than ever today - still doing great work!

We also saw the Preston Cecilian Choral Society perform at Kirkham Grammar School. It was an outstanding performance, proudly demonstrating the great musical talent we have in Preston. Thanks for inviting us! We are very much looking forward to more excellent performances with the Preston Arts Festival due to start very soon at the time of writing. In fact, one of their performances will be at the Mayor's Ball, which I am delighted about!

It has been a real pleasure to work with the Mayoral Charities this year. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity and Intact Centre do so much work here in Preston helping people in the community. The last major fundraising event will be The Mayor of Preston's Coronation Charity Ball - and everyone is welcome to join us!

I had the chance to talk to representatives from UCLan at the Town Hall, at the university, and also along a touring tour of the city centre - promoting Preston as a great student destination. We look forward to greeting the new students later this year! I really enjoyed hearing about the work being done to promote Preston internationally - and it was a pleasure to speak to the representatives taking the message across the world that Preston is a great place to be!

There was a brilliant event last week at the Shout Network Expo - so many people and businesses there, including one of my charities Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Charity! Amazing to see the Guild Hall so full, so soon after the recent news of the settled litigation. A good omen for the future!

Friends of Haslam Park Preston with their litter pick

Brilliant to see so many people out helping the Friends of Haslam Park Preston with their litter pick - around the park and along a stretch of the canal too!

We joined with the Dialogue Society and people from across Preston to celebrate Ramadan and talk about the importance of inclusion for all. We also enjoyed the delicious food, fabulous ink painting and managed to come second and third (Mayor and Consort) in the quiz!

It was great to see Andrew from Armed Forces Group Preston and hear about the important work they are doing to support veterans in Preston. I also look forward to the Armed Forces events that take place in the city centre this year.

Raising money by defying gravity

I'm really excited to be raising money by defying gravity to help the amazing Preston Carnival on 22 April! Can you help with a donation to help bring the wonderful Preston Carnival back to our streets? To donate visit gofund.me - defying gravity for Preston Caribbean Carnival.

Most recently, we gathered to celebrate the birthday of No Whispers CIC and hear about more of the important work they do raising awareness of child sexual exploitation and helping to protect young people.

City Events Programme

April will see the beginning of our City Events Programme. I am delighted to be attending Preston's Coronation Big Lunch on May 7 which promises to be a great day with lots of entertainment, stalls and activities. If you are attending, be sure to say hello!

You can find out about my other visits on Facebook - Preston Mayor and you can also follow me on Twitter - @Preston Mayor.

There will be more detail about my latest engagements in my next blog, so I hope you'll join me again then.

Neil