St Annes gearing up for festive season at Saturday afternoon Christmas lights switch-on

It’s organised by St Annes Town Council and the big switch-on in St Anne Square at 5.30pm will be precded by a dazzling bill of entertainment from 4pm.

Earlier in the day, Father Christmas will be visiting the town’s satellite shopping areas at Alexandria Drive (11am), Whalley Place (noon), Headroomgate Road (1pm) and St. Albans Road (2pm), offering the opportunity for photos with Father Christmas to be taken and free gifts available.

At 3.15pm, Churches Together will hold a Crib Blessing at the amphitheatre in the town centre. The event organised by St. Thomas’ Church will include music, carols and unveiling of the nativity crib.

The entertainment from 4pm in St Annes Square will begin with a performance from Frozen’s Elsa and Anna, at 4.20pm Mayfield School children will perform followed by a Disney Sing-along at 4.40pm and the ACross the Boards company at 5pm, followed at 5.20pm by special guests and artists joining event host Emma-Louise Jackson on stage for the countdown to the switch on by St Annes town mayor Karen Harrison and special guests.

The festivities are organised and run by the Community and Neighbourhood Group (CAN) of St Annes Town Council, who promise some new-look lights this year as the displays are constantly updated and Coun Harrison, also chairman of the council, said everyone is relishing a heart-warming start to the Christmas season.

Coun Harrison said: "This promises to be a very special day. The CAN team have worked hard to make this a really good Community event. I hope to see as many of you there as possible, it's going to be great fun and I'm really looking forward to it.”

More details are available at www.stannesonthesea-tc.gov.uk

Meanwhile, the festive fun is set to continue in St Annes a couple of weeks later when the St Annes Enterprise Partnership (STEP) holds its second annual STEP into Christmas Market in Ashton Gardens.

A wide variety of stalls and attractions will feature and opening times will be Thursday, December 8, 4pm-8pm ( with Santa’s Grotto open until 6pm); Friday, December 9 11am-8pm (Grotto until 7pm); Saturday, December 10 11am-8pm (Grotto until 6pm); Sunday, December 11, 11am-6pm (Grotto until 6pm).