Calling all primary school students!  Do you want to win a trip to see Aladdin at the North West’s premier theatre this Christmas? Unleash your creativity and bring your three magical wishes to life! Imagine what you’d ask for if a genie granted you any wish.  There are no limits – draw or paint your wildest dreams!

The Millennium Forum, in partnership with the Richmond Shopping Centre, has continued with its longstanding tradition of running an annual Christmas school’s art competition, offering the winner a trip for their entire class to see the biggest panto in town.  This year, local primary school students are asked to create an art piece on what their three wishes would be if they had Aladdin’s lamp.  Entries will be shortlisted and the finalists posted up on the Richmond Centre’s Facebook page for public voting. 

Mags Anderson, Education Officer at the Millennium Forum, encourages all primary schools to enter. 

“We are so excited to be launching another school’s competition for our panto this year with our partners, the Richmond Shopping Centre. Every year, the competition gets bigger and better, with more schools entering each time, so we’re expecting this year to have a large number of entries once again.  It’s the perfect opportunity for young students to unleash their creativity and I can’t wait to see what the children create.”

Cara McCartney, Development & Creative Engagement Manager at the Millennium Forum added:

“Sponsorship with the Millennium Forum and the Richmond Centre for our annual panto is one of our most important partnerships.  Panto is our biggest show of the year and having one of our main shopping centres on board is extremely important to us as it helps us extend our branding and reach out to the local community with this fabulous school’s competition.  As a registered charity, we are very grateful for the Richmond Centre’s support and we look forward to working with them again this panto season.  We also look forward to seeing the artwork on display at the Richmond Centre in the run up to Christmas.”

Bobby Nicholson, Manager of the Richmond Shopping Centre and sponsor of Aladdin at the Millennium Forum, also commented:

“At the Richmond Centre, we take pride in supporting our local community and the arts. As we celebrate 40 years in business and our 8th year in partnership with the Millennium Forum, we’re thrilled to continue sharing the magic of the Panto with local schools. We look forward to seeing the creativity shine in this year’s art competition and can’t wait for the lucky winner and their class to enjoy the laughter and joy of Aladdin this Christmas.”

Entry posters and full details of the Aladdin art competition for schools can be downloaded from the Millennium Forum and Richmond Centre websites, or, alternatively, hard copies are available from the Richmond Centre.  Completed entries can also be posted in designated post boxes situated in the Richmond Centre.  Click here to download entry details: https://www.richmondcentre.co.uk/panto

The competition opens on Tuesday 15th October at 5pm and closes at 3pm on Friday 8th November.  Voting begins on the Richmond Centre’s Facebook page on Monday 11th November and ends @ 9am on Friday 15th November.  The winner will be announced on Monday 18th November.  The winner will receive a VIP visit to see Aladdin at the Millennium Forum for their class (30 tickets) and two runners up will each receive a family pass (4 tickets).

Aladdin, sponsored by the Richmond Centre, opens at the Millennium Forum on Friday 29th November and runs until Tuesday 31st December. Tickets are now available from the Box Office.  Telephone 71 264455 (option 1) or visit millenniumforum.co.uk for tickets.