22 Mar Thurrock Key Workers see the flags they will hold in The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant
Thurrock-based arts organisation Kinetika and UK-based Jeanefer Jean-Charles & Associates will be presenting ‘The Thank You Dance’ in the Pageant, which will take place in London on the 5th June.
14 key workers from Thurrock and Milton Keynes have been chosen to have their portraits and stories showcased on silk flags in The Thank You Dance at the Pageant, celebrating and recognising the hard work key workers do in their communities across the UK every day. The key workers represented on silks include a paramedic, nurse and a teacher.
Last Friday 18th March the key workers gathered to see their flags for the first time – it was emotional.
Valerie Muzelenga, Nurse, Tilbury, “To see myself on this flag, I cannot stop, tears keep rolling down my face because I’m overwhelmed with joy because this is a great opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime!”
Kevin Sadler, CEO of Gateway Learning Community, “It’s amazing [to see my image on the scroll], I feel really honoured and privileged to have been selected for this event, and to be representing the people I work with and the children I teach. To see myself in silk at that size was just incredible!”
Sarah Harris, Teacher (Head of PE) at Kennington Primary, “I’m really excited to be part of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant, I think to bring Thurrock to London to be part of that wider community is going to be amazing, to feel like you’re doing something for The Queen as well will be brilliant, so I’m really excited.”
The Thank You Dance will be a visually arresting spectacle made up of over 200 performers drawn from across generations from Thurrock, London and Milton Keynes, covered in hand-painted silks, and holding vibrant flags designed and made by community groups from Tilbury, Grays, Purfleet-on-Thames and Milton Keynes.
