Music and tea on tap at church concert in Barney

A Barnard Castle concert is set to sing the praises of the town for its work to become dementia-friendly.
St Mary’s Church, on Newgate, will play host to the community event, Music and Tea on Saturday, April 8, with St Mary’s Singers and the Community Band with friends.
From 2.30pm, afternoon tea will be served and music will be played. Visitors will also have the chance to find out more about the dementia-friendly work going on in the town.
Church organist Annette Butters said: “Music is a great way of bringing people together but what makes this even more exciting is the strength we get within our communities by working together.
“One part of the community supports another and stuff happens. We hope we can draw in people to find out more about the work and projects that the dementia-friendly Barney group have been working on and we hope this may lead to more awareness or even practical help being offered.
“We also want people to come along simply for pleasure and to enjoy themselves. This is the first time the band and the singers have done a joint concert so we are all looking forward to it.”
The free event is being held as part of the Teesdale Community Music Festival. Any donations will go towards the festival which will run later in the year from June 9-11. The festival will provide an opportunity for local musicians and groups of all ages and abilities to come together in an atmosphere of fun and mutual support to make music.