On a scorching, sunny Sunday, 100s of people, comprising locals and visitors, filled the streets of Fleetwood town centre for the annual Fleetwood Festival of Transport, known affectionately as Tram Sunday. Tram Sunday celebrations first took place in 1985 as part of the celebrations for the anniversary of Blackpool trams.
It continued to develop over the years to include any form of transport, including: classic cars, motorbikes, buses, and of course, not forgetting the trams. It’s a spectacle in its own right, where the entire town centre is closed to traffic and transformed into an outdoor playground of transport heritage, stalls, food outlets, fairground attractions, and much more.
In a key prominent location positioned between Albert Square and the tram track on Albert Street was the striking dark blue gazebo and table featuring the graphics of the North Fylde Group, with the title ‘Freemasons’ and ‘Join Here’ backdrop. The gazebo was purchased with funding donated from the North Fylde Group. Inside the gazebo was a valiant team of lodge membership officers led by North Fylde Group Membership Officer Gavin Egan. Gavin, accompanied by Stuart DeCore of Broadwater Lodge No 9027 and Kieron Griffiths of Onward Lodge No 5540, have attended Tram Sunday for seven years, talking to numerous interested gentlemen and their families.
Today the membership team met three brethren who have moved into the area and are looking to get back into the Craft, as well as five men who showed a genuine interest in Freemasonry. Everyone who visits the gazebo can take away the impressive North Fylde Group publicity flyer entitled ‘Unlock your potential, become a Freemason’.
Stuart DeCore was pleased to show North Fylde Group Vice Chairman John Topping a copy of the Broadwater Lodge No 9027 lodge profile, which gives potential Freemasons a simple and general background insight into the lodge, the meeting place and meeting dates and times, the dining and social experience, expectations of members and what the fees are for initiation and annual membership. John assured Stuart that the group executive will seek to update the lodge profiles ready for the 2027 Tram Sunday, so that interested gentlemen can take away a revised version of the lodge profiles that may best suit their own personal circumstances.
Another visitor to the gazebo was Chairman of the North Fylde Group, Eddie Wilkinson, who was highly impressed with the gazebo, its location and the thorough preparation undertaken by the membership team prior to the event. He also praised the team’s commitment to spending the entire day engaging with the community during Tram Sunday itself.
Gavin, Stuart and Kieron thanked everyone who called to see them at Tram Sunday, and they look forward to the next community function where the North Fylde Group gazebo can be featured and Freemasonry can be promoted, to assist our membership challenge. Gavin Egan said to John Topping, “To be seen is to be heard,” which is clearly a very powerful quote that will resonate with teams of membership officers that actively engage in a similar manner with their local communities.
