Go artificial this year?

Monday to Friday, Saturday is 7am to 7pm and Sunday is 10am to 4pm. Price: Prices for a five feet artificial tree start at £13. Delivery: Delivery or click and collect is available. Price: Prices for a five feet tree - a Norway Spruce - start at £27. Delivery: Free delivery within the HX6 postcode. HOUSANDS are expected to attend Heckmondwike’s annual Christmas lights festival tomorrow.

Green Park will be transformed into an illuminated wonderland, full of art installations, lanterns and flaming gas jets.

Around 3,000 people are predicted to turn out for HeckmondLIGHT, which will start at 4pm in the park and is co-organised by Heckmondwike Community Alliance and arts organisation, Creative Scene.

It will include a street night market with food and drink, a digital funfair and a visit from Santa Claus.

At 7pm the countdown to the big switch on will be led from the bandstand in Green Park.

The centre piece of the festival and the park - will be a giant ‘momentum wheel’. This is a huge spinning Catherine wheel with a digital light face and pyrotechnics on its fringes.

Simon Thirkill, chairman of Heckmondwike Community Alliance, explained that the lights festival is a longstanding tradition in the town.

He said: “The first ever lights event took place in Heckmondwike in 1863 but we are bringing it bang up to date with the latest in light innovation.

“It’s an event to be proud of and we want to keep looking to the future as we create new attractions for the annual lights event.

“It will be a little bit special this year - plenty lots of new light art works have been created and artists have been working with hundreds of children from local schools and young people to bring these new attractions to the heart of the event.”

One of the attractions at HeckmondLIGHT will be the ‘Invanity’ maze, where you can get lost in a kaleidoscope of mirrors and light.

The creators of the maze, Digital Funfair, described it as “a walk in an infinity mirror, a parallel dimension of light and image ... an ocean of LEDs in a big old trailer, in a park, on a rock, orbiting the sun, through space, pulling you in.”

Santa will be on the bandstand on the hour, every hour, from 4pm and a roaming brass band will mill their way through the park throughout the evening.

Children and adults alike can join artist Lou Sumray with ‘Make and Take’ - a chance to create your own wearable light up items and be part of the illuminations on the night.

There will also be a display of six light boxes, created by students of Brian Jackson College, which portray interpretations of Christmas.

Most of the activities and art pieces are free to enjoy but there is a £1 charge for the ‘Invanity’ maze.