VILLAGERS have rallied to give a welcome to 35 members of a gospel choir who are flying to Britain from the US next month.
The singers will all be put up by generous families in and around Gainford, County Durham, when they arrive from Durham, North Carolina, to give a series of concerts.
They will be guests of Gainford Choral Society, whose conductor, Neville Kirby, said: "So many people volunteered to act as hosts to the singers that we now have too many. We have opened a waiting list in case any more places are needed."
The Orange Grove choir, which has its origins among slaves in the tobacco fields, made a successful visit to Gainford in 1999, and the Gainford choir went there two years later. Their area is also twinned with County Durham.
They will take part in a service at St John's Church, Ingleton, on the morning of Sunday, July 20, and will give a concert at Gainford Parish Church that evening.
They are performing at Auckland Castle chapel on July 23, at 7.30pm, then at Durham Cathedral on July 25, at 6.30pm. Their final concert is at Consett Empire on July 26.
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