South Tyneside community comes together as over 100 people celebrate Christmas with dinner at Perth Green Community Centre

Perth Green Community Association in Jarrow has celebrated the festive season in a big way with over 100 older people attending the centres Christmas dinner.

The dinner brought together residents throughout the community, all over the age of 55 for a special dinner attended by the Mayor of South Tyneside Norman Dick and featured a performance from St Mary’s Primary School Choir.

The idea behind the event was to bring together as much of the local community as possible and give older South Tyneside residents a cheap social event.

Older Persons Coordinator at the Perth Green Community Centre, Samuel Fox said: “It was brilliant. A great social event for the whole community with fantastic food and some fun activities.

“The highlight of the day was the St Mary’s Primary School Choir. They were great and everyone loved them. They even got a standing ovation.”

Ten members of Perth Green staff helped cook the dinner and the Jarrow Women’s Institute were also on hand to help out for the day, serving dinners to the hungry guests.

As well as a choir performance, residents were also able to enjoy the sounds of a local ukulele band and participate in a prize-filled raffle.

Sam added: “Things like this have a massive impact on the community. It was a lot of fun. We’ve had tremendous feedback and hope to make it a regular event.”