St Nicks In Bloom - Flower And Music Festival

Let us set the scene … how often can you see beautiful flowers accompanied by breathtaking music in an historic church in the heart of Chiswick? Well this weekend you can at St Nicholas in Church Street.

It's a 3-day event with a number of opportunities for everyone in the community to enjoy all that is on offer. There will be wonderful floral displays, majestic music and so much more.

The weekend starts off on Friday 18th May with a special opportunity to enjoy an exclusive Preview Evening with cocktails and canapés among the stunning displays. Put some time aside between 7-9pm to be one of the first to experience this celebration in flowers and music and enjoy hearing the Julie Morton Quartet. A welcome drink is included in the ticket price of £15. Our website page gives full details about the events together with ticket information at: http://www.stnicholaschiswick.org/

That takes us to Saturday 19th May when the church will be open from 10-5pm to view the amazing displays – and it’s all FREE although donations are appreciated. Alongside the floral exhibits you can enjoy musical interludes and also visit the historic graveyard with tours starting at 3pm. Notable graves include the painter William Hogarth and artist J M Whistler among many others.

The Saturday evening sees a recital by internationally acclaimed organist Jane Parker-Smith on the newly rebuilt organ which sounds incredible! Doors open at 7pm and refreshments will be available. Tickets are only £15 for a unique evening.

There will still be a chance on Sunday 20th May to enjoy the fabulous flowers FREE from 12.30 to 5pm and, again, refreshments will be available including cream teas! At 2pm for an hour there will also be the inspirational Chiswick Gospel Choir and again the graveyard tour at 3pm allows you to visit historic graves including that of the trumpeter who started the Charge of the Light Brigade and a hero of the battle of Rorke’s Drift.

There really is something for everyone and of course this is an inclusive church serving all the people of Chiswick. As you would expect there will be a Choral Mass on the Sunday at 10.30am surrounded by the beautiful flowers and the weekend events conclude that evening with a Songs of Praise at 6pm. Everyone is welcome for an evening of favourite hymns.

As the Vicar of St Nicholas, Father Simon Brandes said "this weekend in flowers and music marks the successful completion of this part of our development campaign. We have adapted our church for mission in the 21st century. With the help of the community we now have one of the finest organs in the area, new boilers to keep us warm which will protect the church, together with new lighting."

The celebration in flowers and music this weekend is a springboard to the future needs of St Nicholas as there is still work to be done. It is hoped to restore the external stone work; protect the building's stone against deterioration and restore its former glory. All of this will cost around over half a million pounds and the proceeds of this weekend will be a major step forward.

We hope you will visit St Nicholas for our celebration festival of flowers and music and we look forward to welcoming you. We feel sure you will really enjoy the fantastic displays which will help us to secure the future for generations to come. It really is A Treasure by the Thames – Transforming Lives.