The residents of Blists Hill Victorian Town will be celebrating the 81st birthday of their much-loved Queen Victoria with great style, pomp and pageantry over the Whitsun Bank Holiday weekend, 29th – 31st May. Each day will be a fitting tribute to the gracious lady with an extravaganza of colour, music and street entertainment.

Shrewsbury’s Town Crier will be the master of ceremonies announcing the full programme, welcoming visitors and helping children to follow a trail in search of lost toys, with a lolly reward for those who complete the task. There will also be a barrel organ and performances by the Kaleidoscope Theatre and Prince Albert Players, while the 80th Regiment of Foot, Staffordshire Volunteers will recount tales of the Boer War and there will be a military camp on The Green with displays of arms and equipment.

An impressive collection of vintage bicycles, including the famous High Bicycle (or Penny Farthing), will be ridden around the town by the March Cycle Club; visitors to the New Inn can join in a lively sing-a-long with the pub’s music hall entertainers and, for a small charge, families can watch a traditional Punch and Judy show in the Goods Shed.

As festivities take place, local townsfolk will still be going about their daily lives in the authentic houses and shops, baking bread, counting coins at the bank and serving Victorian remedies in the chemist. Visitors will also be able to watch craftsmen at their work.