Swadlincote switch-on!

Swadlincote is set to twinkle in the glow of the festive season with the switching on of the town’s Christmas lights this week.

Thousands of people are set to flock to the town to enjoy a day and evening of family-friendly entertainment organised by South Derbyshire District Council on Friday (November 29).

Visitors from near and far can expect a wealth of traditional market stalls (8am – 3pm), food, entertainment, spectacular fireworks, mulled wine and free mince pies.

Those looking for gift inspiration will find it at the Christmas Craft Fair taking place from 10am to 8pm at Sharpe’s Pottery Museum, in West Street. Guests can pick up jewellery, clothing, textiles and ornaments and choose from a selection of food and drink, including delicious cakes.

Visitors can also keep warm with free mince pies and warm fruit punch provided by Burton and South Derbyshire College catering students between 11am and 3pm on the Delph. Hot food and mulled wine will be available from 5pm.

For those who like to fa-la-la along to a festive tune, local school children will be singing carols from 11am to 5pm before a packed programme of entertainment starts on the main stage on the Delph, including The Foster Brothers, Mitch Corner, April Davies, Kirby and The Dark Horses.

Santa and his festive helpers will ski down the slope at Swadlincote Ski and Snowboard Centre, in Sir Herbert Wragg Way, at 4:45pm before Santa makes his way to his grotto for a meet and greet. There will be free gifts for the first 120 children, along with the chance to meet Poma the Penguin and some mischievous elves.

The town’s night sky will be lit up with vibrant colours during the festive fireworks display from 7pm, before the anticipated countdown to the Christmas lights switch on.

Joining South Derbyshire District Council Chairman Cllr David Muller to switch on the lights will be South Derbyshire’s own celebrity auctioneer Charles Hanson. A regular on TV programmes including Bargain Hunt, Flog It! and Antiques Road Trip, Charles started his career at Christie’s in London as a valuer before founding Hanson’s Auctioneers and Valuers in Etwall in 2005.

Other unmissable entertainment includes Santa and his sleigh from the Swadlincote Rotary Club, fairground rides, live broadcasts from Touch FM and a Christmas Treasure Hunt at the Library.

Full details of the line-up and other Christmas activities on the day can be found at www.southderbyshire.gov.uk/christmas 

26 November 2019