Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) and the Pavilion

Do you share your birthday with the Bournemouth Pavilion?

An appeal has gone out to residents in the Bournemouth area who were born on 19th March 1929, the date which marks the 80th anniversary of the Bournemouth Pavilion.

The historic grade II listed Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom was officially opened by H.R.H the Duke of Gloucester on Tuesday 19th March 1929. If you were born on this date, the Pavilion management would like to invite you to take part in the anniversary celebrations, including launching the Open Day on Sunday 29th March. A cut the ribbon ceremony will take place at 10.30am to signal the start of the Open Day and commemorate the special day. Those who share their birthday with the Pavilion’s Anniversary will also be invited to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on Thursday 19th March.

The Pavilion’s free Open Day features a variety of events including talks about the Pavilion as it was in 1929, as well as Bournemouth in that era. From 11.00am until 5.30pm in the Pavilion’s Theatre, there will be performances by Dance South West, BBLOC and Theatre 2000, a cut the cake ceremony with Bournemouth’s Mayor Cllr Stephen Chappell, an Enchanting Bournemouth film screening and regular organist performances.

From 2.30pm until 5.30pm the Pavilion’s Ballroom will host a 1920s tea dance with the New Foxtrot Serenaders, introduced by Mel Douglas and featuring a cabaret performance by the Stage Door School of Dance and Drama. Free tickets are available from ticket offices at the BIC and Pavilion; complimentary tea and cake will be issued for the first 300 tickets. There will also be an opportunity to get into the 1920s swing of things and come in period costume – with spot prices for the best dressed! The Pavilion’s Lucullus Room will also be hosting children’s workshops throughout the day, run by the Bournemouth Youth Theatre and featuring Alice and the Mad Hatter from Adventure Wonderland.

Peter Gunn, Managing Director of the BIC and Pavilion said: “We are celebrating the Pavilion’s 80th anniversary in style with a variety of activities, shows and dances. The Pavilion is an important landmark in Bournemouth and we are thrilled to be throwing open the doors to the public during an open day so that residents of Bournemouth and further afield can celebrate this milestone with us.”

The Pavilion’s anniversary celebrations will be launched by the BSO’s performance of Gilbert and Sullivan on Saturday 14th March and there will be an organ concert led by BBC Radio 2’s Nigel Ogden on Sunday 15th March. UK Productions’ Seven Brides for Seven Brothers runs from 17th-21st March and Bournemouth Art Institutes’ They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? runs from 19th-21st March. Two amateur shows, Celebrating Dance and Celebrating the Musicals, are being hosted by the Pavilion later in the year, as part of the anniversary celebrations.

Please contact Tara Phillips on Tara.Phillips.bic@Bournemouth.gov.uk if you were born on 19th March 1929 and would like to participate in the celebrations, or write to Tara at the Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH.