St Helens Gala: All you need to know ahead of Sunday's event

The inaugural event, which takes place at Ruskin Sports Village in Dentons Green on Sunday between noon and 10pm, has already sold more than 1,300 tickets.

Organised by the Steve Prescott Foundation, Woolyback Productions and Ruskin St Helens, the gala will see a host of celebrities from the world of sport and television attending.

The event is an extension of the annual Barton’s Pickles Johnny Vegas Celebrity Bowls and hopes to create atmosphere similar to those witnessed at Pilkington gala days at the sports ground decades ago.

Sponsored by the Bespoke Funding Solution’s Ltd St Helens Gala umbrella, the family fun day will include three sections.

Johnny Vegas Celebrity Bowls

Among those taking part in the crown green bowls, will be ex-Everton footballer Peter Reid, Saints captain James Roby, Johnny Vegas, Coronation Street's Jude Riordan and former Great Britain rugby league captain Paul Sculthorpe.

Johnny Vegas on the green (Image: Mike Dean)

They will play alongside members of the public who have bid and raised £8,000 for the Steve Prescott Foundation.

Community Engagement Day

The second part is the Handepay Community Engagement Day, which aims to support charities and CIC groups across the borough.

Among the charities raising funds and awareness will be Willowbrook Hospice, Tunza's Pride Happy Hands, Standing Tall Foundation, Positive life workshops, The Cannington Shaw Preservation Trust CIC and Friends of St Helens Cemetary, Hope Centre, Teardrops and St Helens Foodbank.

The latter three charities will be working together and be a collection point for all attendees of the St Helens Gala Day to bring items for the less fortunate in our community who are struggling with the financial crisis.

There will be a host of attractions including Greenalls Brass Band,The Ultimate Party People UK, ADonkey Rides, Classic Car Show, Wild Wings Birds of Prey, P&G Inflatable Fun, The 99th Imperial Garrison Star Wars Characters, Grip Adventures Bushcraft and Soft Archery, and CBeebies Mega Star Hacker T Dog.

Gala Fest

The third part of the St Helens Gala Day is the Bespoke Funding Solutions Ltd St Helens Gala Fest that will be staged on the rugby pitch, behind the Percival Suite, and will host five of the top tribute acts in the country.

Tribute acts to Harry Styles, Bruno Mars, The Stone Roses, The Killers and Oasis will be performing from 3pm to 10pm supported by St Helens DJs, Lee Turner, GJ Oakes and Pete Walshe.

What they are saying

Martin Blondel, from the Steve Prescott Foundation, said “We would like to thank Johnny Vegas, Woolyback Productions, Ruskin Sports, Barton’s Pickles and main sponsors Bespoke Funding Solutions Ltd, Handepay, Cleanhire, Vinyline & Live Events once again supporting the SPF during these tough times.

"We can promise the general public that this will be a family fun-filled day.

"This day has been three years in the making and special gratitude has to go to the operations director at Ruskin, Stephen Palfrey who has shown remarkable determination and resilience to make sure the St Helens Gala Day happened, we would also like to thank Lorraine Simpson at St Helens Council who has worked alongside Stephen to get it across the line.

"It is going to be a special day, one our great town will be proud of”

Mr Palfrey said: “It has always been our intention at Ruskin to bring back the halcyon days of the Pilkington Gala Day which was held in the 1960s/70s to its spiritual home at Ruskin Sports.

"Although the parade from the Pilks works to Ruskin Drive is not happening (not this year) St Helens Gala Day will once again bring the community together, have lots of fun and help people in the process.”

Stalls and tickets

There are four stall pitches available to companies at £25.

For stall bookings or further information please contact Martin Blondel on 07971792859 or email info@sthelensgala.com