NAWF Supports Swansea Golden Jubilee

The North America Wales Foundation is supporting a new staging of the musical Amazing Grace to mark Swansea’s Golden Jubilee later this year.

Renamed Calon Lan, it  is an updated telling of the story of Evan Roberts of Loughor who led a worldwide religious revival in the early years of the twentieth century.  

Renowned for his ‘backing group’, teenagers called The Singers of Dawn, Evan Roberts travelled the length and breadth of Wales and the word of his ministry travelled worldwide particularly to America.   Roberts was renowned for challenging the power and wealth of the colliery owners of South Wales but also the radical socialists who were organising in the coalfields.

Mal Pope, the writer of the award winning musical Amazing Grace, has combined original music with the hymns he had grown up with.  Now Chair of the Swansea International Festival which will celebrate Swansea’s 50 years as a city in July, Mal is staging this ambitious multimedia theatrical production at the city's Grand Theatre between Friday 28 June and Saturday 6 July.

He has appealed to the Welsh community in North America to support the venture and invited those interested to travel to Swansea to join the celebrations.  “We are working with Visit Wales and hope to announce special packages in the coming weeks,” he said.

With our deep roots in the Welsh community in North America, the Foundation is acting as focal point for private fundraising and has established a Calon Lan Fund. Contributions can be sent to the Foundation at 24 Essex Road, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076.

“We are delighted to help such a worthwhile cause” said NAWF President Philip Davies.  “And I would remind potential contributors that as we are a registered not-for-profit organisation, US donations to our Calon Lan fund are tax deductible.”

UK supporters of the NAWF who are interested in making a contribution should, in the first instance, contact the NAWF Secretary for BACS details.

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