Busking for Bournemouth Hospital Charity

On Sunday 3 December, our band members started arriving at Castlepoint Shopping Park…

By 10am, 16 of us were dressed as Santa Claus in a ‘one-size-fits-all’ outfit complete with baggy trousers, a jacket, belt, hat and a very fluffy beard – not the easiest thing to wear when playing an instrument!

We took to the stage to entertain the shoppers, playing Christmas carols to get people in the festive mood. The more we played, the more Santas we saw wandering around the shopping centre.

When we finished playing it was nearly time for Castlepoint’s attempt at taking the biggest Santa selfie. Hundreds of Santas gathered in front of the stage as a man on a cherry picker took a photo of us waving our hands in the air! You’ll need good eyesight to spot the Bournemouth and District Concert Band musicians among the sea of red – a bit like trying to find Wally!

We had a really fun morning helping Castlepoint raise money for the Bournemouth Hospital Charity. The funds raised will help buy gifts for patients in hospital over Christmas time.

Our band was only part of the entertainment Castlepoint put on for the day. There was more live music, gift and craft stalls, dancing, a snow machine and real reindeer!

What a great way to start our busking season this Christmas. For the band members whose Santa suits survived in one piece (oh yes, there were some interesting costume failures!), you can always come to our other busking sessions dressed as Father Christmas!

Look out for us playing more carols around the Bournemouth area this December.

By Emma on flute and Sue on clarinet