Manor Walks Cramlington has made one lucky North Tyneside teenager’s dreams come true this Christmas by crowning her winner of its inaugural singing competition.
Milly Melling, 15, competed against five other North East youngsters in the hotly contested A Star is Born final as part of Manor Walks’ spectacular Christmas lights switch on.
The West Allotment teenager performed in front of an excited crowd who enjoyed an action-packed programme of free family fun, including live music from brass and steel bands, mesmerising light-up stilt walkers, free face painting, dance performances and a special guest appearance from singer songwriter and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Jamie Lee Harrison.
The event, held in association with Heart FM and Cramlington Town Council, was a huge success and talented Milly beat off stiff competition from across the region to win a £500 cash prize.
Milly was one of 17 youngsters who were selected to attend an open audition at Glass House, Cramlington, to secure one of the six places in the A Star is Born final. She performed on Saturday 25thNovember alongside Daisy Pringle, 14, from Sunderland, Jada Langley, 11, from Washington, Sasha France, 11, from Jarrow, Phoebe Wouldhave, 9, from Prudhoe, and Brook Miller, 15, from North Shields.
They were invited to perform live on stage before Jamie Lee Harrison threw the switch on this year’s Christmas lights before a panel of judges including: Jamie Lee, John Collins, Chair of Cramlington Town Council and Alex Roland from Moulin Music Management.
Winner Milly Melling said: “It was amazing and I was overwhelmed at winning A Star is Born. I’m so grateful for all the support. It was such a lovely and well organised event and I’m delighted to have won this real heart of the community singing competition.”
Bruno Coppola, General Manager at Manor Walks Shopping and Leisure, said: “Congratulations to Milly, our winner of A Star is Born, as she was outstanding at our Christmas lights switch on. We truly believe we have found a real singing superstar and wish her every success in the future.
“Each of the six finalists did a fantastic job and should be extremely proud of themselves as they all performed brilliantly and helped make our Christmas lights switch on extra special. We were delighted with the success of the whole event and I would like to thank everyone in the community who came along.
“It was fantastic to see so many people enjoying the free, festive events and we hope that families will come and visit Santa at his magical grotto and take part in our festive workshops throughout December.”
John Collins, Chair of Cramlington Town Council, who was on the judging panel said: “It was fantastic to see so many people turn out for Manor Walks’ Christmas lights switch on. The whole day was brilliant and there was something for everyone to enjoy.
“The highlight of the day was the final of ‘A Star is Born’ as each of the six finalists shone on stage. The wealth of talent from across the North East was unbelievable and they were all amazing. It was incredibly difficult to choose a winner as they all performed brilliantly under such cold conditions but Milly had that magical star quality.”
The yuletide event marked the start of Manor Walks’ Christmas celebrations, including Santa’s Magical Grotto. Children can also visit Santa for free between 11am until 3pm on the following dates:Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th and Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd December. Book online at www.manorwalks.co.uk to reserve your magical slot – but be quick as places are limited due to Santa and his elves being very busy in his workshop. There will also be some magical slots created on each day for drop-ins.
There is a variety of free, fun festive craft workshops: on Saturday 2nd December, Mrs Claus and her elf helper Merry Jingle, will be helping children to write letters to Santa to ask for their favourite toys. Children can also get crafty on Saturday 9th December by decorating their very own bauble. Then on Saturday 16th December they can discover what it takes to become a real elf with Santa’s elves Tinsel and Cookie.
The festive fun also continues after Christmas as children can get creative to make a personalised snowman craft on Thursday 28th December. All of these workshops take place from 11am until 3pm.
To keep up to date with all the latest news and events follow @ManorWalks on Twitter, find Manor Walks on Facebook at www.facebook.com/manorwalks or visit the website www.manorwalks.co.uk
For advice on how to get to Manor Walks please visit www.manorwalks.co.uk/visitor-info/getting-here.