24 Jun 2024
The biggest community event of the year – a huge celebration of the city’s patron saint – took place in St Albans on Saturday.
For the first time, the Alban Pilgrimage and the Alban Street Festival were held on the same day, providing the perfect opportunity for the whole city to come together and party.
The annual Pilgrimage – organised by St Albans Cathedral – involved a parade of giant puppets to tell the story of Alban, Britain’s first Christian martyr, including Roman centurions, chariots and lions, and even the addition of a puppet Peregrine falcon in recognition of the birds nexting on the Cathedral’s roof.
The Alban Festival ran alongside the regular Charter Market and included live music at the Clock Tower, craft activities and henna tattoos, plus actors portraying historic characters from the city’s past.
Windrush Day, which was also on Saturday was celebrated with events by the Vintry Garden including Caribeen music and food.
Chris Traill, SADC’s strategic director for community and place delivery, said: “Alban Day turned out to be both a magnificent spectacle and a great success.
“We were delighted with the number of residents and visitors who attended to watch the spectacular Pilgrimage and then stayed around to enjoy all the wonderful activities that we staged.
“The event brought many thousands of people to the city centre which hopefully provided a boost to our Charter Market traders as well as our shops, pubs, restaurants and other businesses.”
Photos by Toby Shepheard and SADC.
