Celebrate Northamptonshire

On Wednesday 12^th November, over 250 people gathered at Althorp to celebrate success from across the county’s business, resident and voluntary communities over the last year.

The toastmaster, Alan Cockayne from Wootton, introduced  Lady Juliet Townsend, Patron of Northamptonshire Community Foundation, who welcomed guests and spoke on behalf of the charity  chosen to benefit from the evening’s proceedings and auction.

The celebrity host for the evening was Andrew Castle, a recent contestant on Strictly Come Dancing and presenter of GMTV. Andrew proved an entertaining host, conducting the auction and encouraging guests to contribute more than £8000.00 to the charity which will be match funded by the Treasury.

The guests were entertained on the evening by a variety of talented local musicians. On arrival they were greeted by Lincoln Noel on the Grand Piano and Harpistry, a harp and flute duo played to guests in the picture gallery.

A string quarter from the Northamptonshire Music Service played during dinner and 4 pipers from the Northampton Pipe Band delighted guests with their stirring music and traditional dress.

Faryl Smith from Kettering, a finalist in last year’s Britain’s Got Talent, announced on the evening that her debut  album will be released next year on Mother’s Day. The evening’s dancing was accompanied by music from local band Identity Crisis.

Special thanks must go to Althorp and to all of the individuals and companies who donated prizes and services and in particular to everyone who attended and made the evening such a resounding success.

Northamptonshire Enterprise and their partners would like to thank everyone for their generosity

and support.

Let Yourself Grow 2009

The evening also saw the launch of Let Yourself Grow 2009. This year long project, lead by Northamptonshire Enterprise Ltd, will highlight a diverse programme of events to showcase all that is best about the county and promote Northamptonshire as a first class destination in which to Live, Learn, Visit and Invest.

Exciting brand new initiatives and events will also be developed with the support of NEL’s partners, including the Northamptonshire Food Awards and Motorsport Week and a new section of the website will promote the significant shoe and leather heritage of the county.