Flower festival marks Queen's Jubilee events (From Dudley News)

Flower festival marks Queen's Jubilee events

5:00pm Sunday 22nd July 2012 in Local

A DUDLEY church will be all patriotic next weekend when it hosts its annual flower festival.

St Francis Church in Laurel Road will be marking the Queen’s ’60 Glorious Years’ in flowers, with displays by its three talented arrangers depicting key events from Her Majesty’s reign.

The fundraising festival, which takes place on Saturday July 28 and Sunday July 29 from 10am until 6pm, will be officially opened with a concert by Gemini at 7.30pm on Friday July 27, with tickets available on the door, priced £4.

Entrance to the festival costs £2, with all money raised going towards ongoing church costs.

A summer fair will also be held in the Parish Centre and lunches and cream teas will also be served.

The weekend will also be a double celebration for the church as it celebrates a 25 year partnership with a church in Germany, as it plays host to a group of guests from The Church of the Resurrection in Bremen.

The five-day visit will mark the milestone anniversary of the partnership between the churches, which has seen many visits between the two countries and many friendships develop over the two decades.

On Sunday (July 29) as part of the flower festival celebrations, a special service will be held at 11am, which will be led by Rev Canon Robert Jones – former priest at St Francis Church who first started the link in 1987.

Maggie Hickman, festival organiser, said: “This weekend will help us continue celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee as we mark the many aspects of our Queen’s reign.

“And this year we not only give thanks for our Queen, but also our partnership and friendship with our friends from Bremen.

“It will be an opportunity to welcome back many old friends and we hope many people will come along and join in the fun with us.”