towncouncil@diss.gov.uk

Thank you to everyone who turned out for our Right Royal Celebration in honour of King Charles III’s Coronation in Diss Park on Sunday.

Thousands of you celebrated in the sunshine to a fantastic line-up of entertainment starting with youth stage choir ‘Voice Squad who delighted the audience with performances including Another Day of Sun, Adiemus, Fix You and Me Ole Bamboo. The year-old Diss squad were joined by the long-established groups from Bury St Edmunds with a solo performance of ‘Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue’ by long standing Voice Squad member and leader of the Diss group, Ella-Rose who is forging a career as a singer-songwriter.

Director, Birgitta Kenyon said, "Getting to sing for the King was the crowning glory of the Voice Squad's 30th Birthday. Although the Diss branch is only in its second year, it was such an honour to be part of the celebrations - and my goodness, Diss might be a small town, but it knows how to do a right royal knees-up!"

Fine City Samba, Norwich’s community band of drummers demonstrated their Brazilian beats before Ukrainian operatic duo Tatiana Belousova and Natalia Stepanova took to the stage alongside Voice Squad director & pianist, Birgitta Kenyon with a series of Ukrainian folk tunes plus some familiar pieces including Ave Maria and I Dreamed a Dream. We were then treated to a very special performance on the piano by Natalia’s 7-year-old son who has competed in several international competitions and was simply incredible.

Expertly presented by our local event hosts, Park Radio Ltd, with top class sound technician and staging support from Jake Kibble and Alex Rackham of Cozmo Entertainments, revellers were treated to Norfolk-based rhythm & blues band, The Uncalled Four. Phil Selby of the band, said post event “What a great day, yesterday. Thanks for inviting the Uncalled Four to take part.  We enjoyed it greatly.  And thanks again Jake for the brilliant on-stage sound.”

PRTY, a high energy show band from East Anglia, got the party in full swing with their repertoire of upbeat and iconic rock, pop, funk, disco, and indie hits from across the decades. One of Diss Town Council’s newest councillors, George Waterman, even stepped up to perform with the band, singing his rendition of Sweet Caroline. Lead singer for PRTY said, “We had an absolute blast and really appreciate all the kind comments we have received!”

The evening’s concert concluded with original performances from Caswell and her band.  Crafting a flavour of neo-soul, downtempo electronica and elaborate pop, Caswell hails from East Anglia, the song writing journey having begun as a preteen after watching a musical episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Their live performance triumphed over 600+ acts in a nationwide competition to support Ed Sheeran.

And a royal celebration would not be complete without some Kings who did a sterling job interacting with the audience and showing off their dance moves thank you to Tribe All Fitness. Our gratitude is also extended to the Army and Air Cadets who once again ensured the Park was kept looking clear of litter throughout the event and the Diss & District Rotarians who helped raise additional funds for the Mayor’s charities, Marie Curie & Cancer Research UK.

The Town Mayor addressed the audience to mark the special occasion, thank everyone for coming, acknowledge those involved in organising the event before introducing his VIP entourage which included the newly elected Conservative District Councillors Keith Kiddie and Graham Minshull alongside newest recruit councillor Kieran Murphy, Diss & Roydon’s youngest ever District Councillor.

In support of the mayor were also his recently appointed Cadets, Sergeants Annalise Smith of the Norfolk Army Cadet Force and Harley Brinkley of the Norfolk & Suffolk Wing of the Royal Air Force Air Cadets and the town mascot Dinsdale, who was presented with his very own special willow crown created by DesignerMakers21 and decorated by schoolchildren from both Bressingham and Roydon Primary Schools.

John Cruse, Team Vicar, Diss Ministry read a short prayer before handing over to cllr Keith Kiddie who read a Coronation message from the King and Queen Consort and crowned Dinsdale before everyone joined in singing the national anthem.

Cllr Taylor said, “It was great to see such a large turnout to our Coronation event no doubt helped by the unexpectedly warm dry weather. It was lovely to see so many young families picnicking and dancing along with the music. I must make a special mention to the organising committee and volunteers for doing such a good job in getting the top-class acts and the many street food stalls in what was a relatively short time frame. Well done everyone!”

Alongside the free afternoon of live music, there was a range of food on offer to tempt tastebuds including South African street food - The Durban Grill, the Potato Pod, ‘Flip & Sip’ and Fully Loaded Fries. The Field Kitchen brought their Lebanese culinary delights alongside the Thai Orchid, The Suffolk Wild Flour Pizza Bar and The Bucket List.

For those of you with a sweet tooth, there was B.B’s Bakery, Debbie’s Dinky Donuts, Collette’s Crepes, My Bubble Waffles and plenty of ice cream.

And no party is complete without a selection of drinks on offer supplied by Norwich Bar Hire, Mel’s Happy Daze Bar and Smiths Mobile Bar and a children’s funfair courtesy of Larry Gray funfairs.

Thanks go to the event sponsors, Diss Town Council, South Norfolk District Council, Phoenix Security Ltd (who worked with us to ensure everyone was safe) and Montgomerie Lodge.

Town Clerk and event lead, said, “This event was brought to you by the organisers of the successful Glow in the Park event last June to celebrate the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee and on behalf of the committee, I’d like to say, “Thank you all for coming and providing such an amazing atmosphere, which I was proud to be a part of.”

Please share any pictures from the event and tag @DissTC.

If you’d like to get involved in helping to support any of our events, please get in touch with us. Email towncouncil@diss.gov.ukor call 01379 643848.

You can purchase tickets to see the Ukrainian opera singers at the Apex in Bury St Edmunds and raise funds for Ukrainian charities on 25th May by visiting

https://www.theapex.co.uk/whats-on/booking.cfm?ins=1105590

If you’d like to book PRTY for an event, check our their website https://www.prtyfunctionband.com and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PRTYfunctionband