Bo'ness Belles celebrate 10th anniversary with outdoor concert

And to celebrate the milestone, Jeni and her 17-strong choir are hosting a free, outdoor concert in the Glebe Park in Bo’ness on Thursday, August 17, at 7.30pm.

The repertoire for B in the Park will have a little bit of something for everyone, from show tunes to the Bay City Rollers and Miley Cyrus to Dua Lipa!

Jeni said: “The idea first came to me during lockdown – a play on T in the Park, an outdoor concert meant everyone would be able to come together and enjoy the event, regardless of Covid.

“We decided it would be nice to stage it now, though, as the Belles prepare to celebrate their 10th anniversary. It’s a thank you to everyone who has supported us in the last ten years, from the community to local businesses. That’s why it's a free event and we’re doing a varied repertoire – there will be something for all ages to enjoy.”

Jeni first hit on the idea of singing at local care homes in 2013 and that Christmas, the then 10-strong Belles brought joy to elderly residents by singing a range of much-loved songs.

The choir proved so popular that they started getting requests for summer visits too, as well as invites to perform at local events and organisations.

Donations, given to the choir from bookings outside care homes, have enabled choir members to do a lot of good in the community too, raising £37,000 to date for local charities, including the Bo’ness Storehouse Foodbank and last year’s recipient Bo’ness Car 4U.

This year, the choir is hoping to reach £40,000 – with donations from this year being split between ten local good causes to celebrate the decade the choir has been going strong.

Funds have already been raised via a bake sale and quiz night earlier this year, with the choir hoping to raise even more at the Belle of the Ball event they have also organised at West Lothian Golf Club in Linlithgow on Saturday, October 7, at 7pm. Tickets for that event are £12 from any choir member or via the Bo’ness Belles Facebook and Instagram pages.

And all of the funds raised will be donated to this year's 10 good causes.

Rehearsals for Christmas will begin in earnest in October, as it’s the busiest time of the year for the Belles.

Jeni added: “I’d like to say a huge thanks to Bo’ness Old Kirk which has supported the Belles since the very start, allowing us to use the church for rehearsals – free of charge.

“We’ll start rehearsing in October for Christmas when we tour all of the local care homes but we also have quite a few bookings too, as well as carol singing round the town and singing at Newtown Park to raise funds for the football club.

“I’d like to say a special thank you to all of the Belles who have played their part in the choir’s success in the last ten years. We started out with ten members, grew to 27 at one point and are now sitting at 17, which is a nice number.

“The girls give up a lot of their time, not just for rehearsals but also for events. They work really hard because they are passionate about the choir, just like I am. It's been an incredible ten years and we're hoping to reach the £40,000 milestone for charity by the end of our anniversary year too.”

Don’t forget, folks, the free B In the Park concert will be held in the Glebe next Thursday, August 17, at 7.30pm.