Cookstown’s Burnavon theatre turns purple for pancreatic cancer awareness

An oasis of colours is set to reveal Dungannon’s Ranfurly House, the Burnavon in Cookstown, and the Bridewell Centre in a whole new light, kicking off with deep purple this week.

Mid Ulster Council has granted permission for the light displays which will transform the town centres from Saturday October 31 to Monday November 30. The scheme has been launched to coincide with Pancreatic Cancer UK’s Purple Light of Hope cancer awareness campaign for the month of November.

At October’s monthly meeting of the council’s development committee, the Director of Culture and Leisure sought permission for the illuminations from the council chamber.

Supporting the proposal, DUP Councillor James Shiels asked for the Bridewell Centre to be included in the initiative.

UUP Councillor Trevor Wilson also suggested that the spectacle should part of an ongoing campaign to promote different charities, with a new colour lighting up the iconic buildings every month.

“We want to raise the profile of as many charities as possible”, he told the Tyrone Times.

“They do such excellent work in fundraising and promoting greater health awareness, and we should be doing as much as we can to support them in a practical way.

“The light shows will also add a bit of colour and civic pride to our town centres.”

A spokesperson for Pancreatic Cancer Action said: “The turn it purple campaign calls for businesses and individuals to highlight the fifth deadliest cancer in the UK by embracing purple.”