Plans all in place for town Winter Festival

DRIVING instructors from Huddersfield and their pupils have taken part in a 3,000-mile relay drive to raise money for Children in Need.

The ‘big learner relay’, which began on November 1, has involved 190 driving instructors who have been giving each pupil a one-hour lesson while transporting a yellow spotted top box to the next relay drop off.

In its fourth year, the relay has visited Huddersfield three times, raising over £250,000 for Children in Need.

The relay will finish on November 17 with a lap around Knowsley Safari Park, Liverpool.

Claire Bembridge, who led the relay on Thursday from Cleckheaton to Outlane Golf Club, said: “One of many special moments this year will be when Sandhurst (military academy) welcome the relay on Remembrance Sunday into their grounds.” ORGANISERS of Huddersfield’s first-ever Winter Festival have revealed more details of their plans.

Events company Huddersfield Live has teamed up with the Piazza Shopping Centre to stage the Christmas lights switch-on, which will take place at the Piazza this Saturday.

The Winter Festival itself will get under way the day before in St George’s Square.

The switch-on will see 14 food and drink businesses setting up stalls at Nelson Mandela Corner from 10am to 8pm for what is being billed as the Food and Drink Winter Market “Part 1”.

It will include stalls selling mulled wine, mulled gin, Thai food, French cuisine, cheese, pizzas, hotdogs, cakes and sweets. Other attractions will include face-painting.

The switch-on will be performed by Jake Quickenden, star of The X Factor and I’m a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here.

Huddersfield Town mascot Terry the Terrier and Giants mascot Big G will also be in attendance along with some of the cast from the Lawrence Batley Theatre pantomime, Jack & the Beanstalk, who will join the fun at about 4.30pm following a photoshoot at St George’s Square.

The Winter Festival will run from 11am to 9pm on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until January 1 with a host of attractions – all taking place in St George’s Square.

The focus for the festival will be three decorative teepees – providing a comfy space for people to relax, a bar selling hot drinks and a performance space for groups to put on entertainment.

There will be a regular food trader, changing each week, in addition to a Christmas food and drink market with over a dozen stalls running from Friday, December 1, to Saturday, December 3.

Other attractions will include carol singing and a children’s Winter Wonderland Workshop run by Chol Theatre from Friday, December 15, to Sunday, December 17. There will also be Christmas trees for sale and opportunities for small firms lacking the resources for a lavish staff Christmas-do to hold a more modest get-together.

Sam Watt, of Huddersfield Live, said: “All in all, we want to create a fun atmosphere for everyone.

“Working together with the Piazza and markets is what we at Huddersfield Live are all about, bringing businesses together to create a reason for people to come into town and stay in town.

“We are going to try to work with everyone who has an event, market, activity across town and help promote their’s too – so it really does become Huddersfield Winter Festival.”

Anyone interested in staging events as part of the festival can email info@huddersfieldlive.co.uk.