Celebrating twinning links
More than 80 visitors from France, Germany and Poland are expected in Newark for a weekend of twinning celebrations.
They will mark 30 years of twinning links with German town Emmendingen, 20 years with French town Saint Cyr sur Loire and the town’s friendship with Sandomierz in Poland.
The visitors will stay with families and in hotels.
The celebrations will be held from June 14 to 16, coinciding with Newark Festival weekend.
Wine growers from Emmendingen and a wine princess will take part in the food and drink festival while a German band will play Guggenmusik in the carnival procession on Sunday.
The weekend will start with an official welcome in Newark Town Hall on Friday evening from the Mayor of Newark, Mr Bryan Richardson.
The Newark School of Violin-making will put on a concert in the Town Hall on Saturday for the visitors and some will go to the Madness concert in the evening.
There will be a special service of celebration in Newark Parish Church on Sunday when the choir from Coddington Primary School will sing the Jubilee Song written by Gary Barlow and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.
There will be an exhibition of the twinning links over the years in Newark Town Hall from June 10 to 21.
During the weekend, discussions will be held about the propsed football match between Newark and Emmendingen to commemorate the truce match played in the first world war.
A historian will be among the visitors and will be look at the history of Newark in the war.
Two engraved rose bowls are to be presented as gifts from Newark to the twin towns.
The Emmendingen visitors are bringing a football table as a gift, which will be given to the Hawtonville Youth Centre.
The chairman of Newark Twinning Association, Mrs Rita Crowe, has been involved with the twinning links from the start and makes regular trips with her husband, Mr Rob Crowe, who is the association secretary.
She said over the years they had made many friends.
She said: “We just thought it was an amazing thing to be involved with, and still do.”