Our Bury St Edmunds gets set to light up the town
With just a few days to go before one of the most eagerly anticipated events in Bury St Edmunds town centre, the final touches are being made to arrangements for the Our Bury St Edmunds Christmas Lights Event on Thursday November 20.
This year, new lights will be in place to illuminate the Market Thoroughfare for the first time in several years. The free-admission event will see the town centre packed with stalls for gifts, crafts and good causes, fairground attractions and a host of festive characters to meet including Santa on his sleigh, assisted by his elves.
Other characters on the night will include the fabulous Snow Lion who was a huge hit with visitors last year and a larger-than-life Polar Bear. The Snow Queen, Ice Princess and their snowman friend will also be returning. The date is, of course, also St Edmund’s Day, which will be reflected in the event with a special wolf-themed free children’s workshop from Crafty Foxes. There will also be a chance to have a photo with St Edmund and his wolf to highlight the story of the town’s namesake saint.
The Christmas Lights Event is organised by Our Bury St Edmunds BID. Chief Executive Mark Cordell said: “I know how much the people of Bury St Edmunds and all our town centre businesses look forward to seeing the Christmas decorations and with the Market Thoroughfare recently widened to connect the town centre with arc Shopping Centre I’m very pleased that we are now able to light up that walkway too. I’m especially grateful to Rougham Estates who once again have very generously provided the Christmas Trees for Angel Hill and The Traverse. We hope to see lots of people in town enjoying this free event and starting their Christmas shopping.”
All the lights in the displays use the most energy-efficient LED bulbs and the time they remain on is carefully managed to conserve energy. As in recent Christmas Lights Events the lights will start to come on as dusk falls and everyone will be able to see the illuminations appear from wherever they are in the town centre.
Throughout the afternoon and evening there will be a full programme of stage entertainment including local choirs and performances from schools and colleges. The Our Bury St Edmunds Christmas Lights Event runs from 3pm to 8pm and is supported by ShopSafe and Bury St Edmunds Town Council. More information is available at www.ourburystedmunds.com and on social media @ourburysteds.
