A Brief History of The Hexham Christmas Ceilidh
The first Hexham Christmas Ceilidh took place in 1994 in the ballroom at The Royal Hotel, and was the idea of David Oliver and Martin Dunn of The Hedgehog\'s Skin and John Clegg, the owner of the hotel.
The Hedgehog\\'s Skin, despite playing very regularly for weddings and private parties, had noticed a decline in the number of dances open to the public, and so decided to provide Hexham with a special ceilidh every year. It has been held every year since (except for 2020 and 2021 when the Covid 19 pandemic prevented indoor gatherings), always on December 28th, nicely filling the gap between Christmas and New Year.
Such was its success it moved the following year to the much bigger Queen Elizabeth High School, and then in 1997 to Wentworth Leisure Centre, before returning to QEHS in 2000 where it remained until the school was rebuilt in 2021. When the event returned in 2022 it was held in the new Hexham Middle School hall.
The formula is very simple: only great tunes and only great dances, lots of well-known favourites with a few surpises thrown in, friendly and accessible to anyone.
David Oliver (accordion) and Chip Chamberlain (guitar) have, at every christmas ceilidh, formed the backbone of the band, which has included Martin Dunn (flute), Joey Oliver (whistle), Richard Adamson (melodeon), Alex Wade (concertina) and the fiddle playing of Chuck Fleming, Sarah Skilbeck, Emma Reid, Ruth Ball, Heather Gessey, Beth Chamberlain, Catriona Innes, Rachel Oliver and Sophie and Cameron Lynch.
The original caller was the inimitable Dave Cave, who was a regular caller with The Hedgehog\'s Skin until his death in 1998 (although too ill to call or dance, he attended the 1997 event, the last dance he ever went to). At the second event, he called for the entire evening dressed in a quite brilliant home-made angel outfit. Hugh Rippon was a guest caller in 1996, after which Mary Oliver called every Hexham Christmas ceilidh until Joey took over in 2006.
A special guest spot was given at the first ceilidh by concertina virtuouso Robert Harbron, accompanied by Tim Diggings on bodhran. Since then, appearances have been made by The Riding Mill Fiddlers, The Hexham Morris Men and The Hexhamshire Lasses, 422, The Pack, Sarah Hayes, various Belly Dancers, Irish Set Dancers, Dunmail Hodkinson, Gigue Fish, Carolyn Robson and Paul Tabbush, Joe O\'Connor, Laura Connolly, Alistair Anderson, Sarah Norris, King Cole, Emma Reid, Mike Tickell with Alan Lynch, Star and Shadow Rapper Dancers, Hadrian Clog, Beat It, the Newcastle Kingsmen and Ian Craigs.
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