Christmas celebration to be proud of

YES, I know it’s only the middle of November – but you know the Christmas lights are always switched on at this time of year in towns across the country as traders look to cash in on festive shopping.

This year The Sentinel has teamed up with Stoke-on-trent City Council to stage a Proper Stokie Christmas celebration for the city centre lights switch-on.

On Thursday evening in Albion Square, outside Hanley Town Hall, I’m hoping you will join us for our free, family-friendly event which isn’t Winterfest (or any of the other ill-fated names that have been tried previously). It’s not arty. It’s just Christmas.

It’s a celebration which will hopefully get everyone in the mood for the festive season and it takes place on the same night that the popular Winter Wonderland attraction opens.

Last year I attended several Christmas lights switchons with my children in towns across North Staffordshire. Leek’s, for example, was terrific – with people filling the town and enjoying the festivities.

As a city centre business I wanted The Sentinel to help deliver a Christmas celebration in Hanley we could all be proud of.

So, after months of planning and preparation – with sponsorship from the city council and the support of many partner organisations including Staffordshire University and BBC Radio Stoke, we’re looking forward to a good night.

We’ve listened to feedback from people in previous years to help craft the celebrations which will begin between 3.30pm and 4pm when the first of seven local choirs who took part in our Song For Christmas competition – from primary schools across the Six Towns and Newcastle – will perform their festive number on stage. Around 180 local children will be taking part – something I’m particularly looking forward to. I know the generous public of North Staffordshire will give them great support and I hope the youngsters, their families and their teachers, make lovely memories. We’ll make sure each child receives a goodie bag for being so awesome.

Santa Claus will also be arriving on a land train around 3.30pm and, with help from his elves, will be dishing out sweet treats, badges and glow sticks to young children who visit him to let him know what presents they would like to wake up to on December 25 (if they’ve been good, of course...).

Near the land train, families will be able to see two of Santa’s reindeer – on a flying visit from the North Pole – and children can have their faces painted for free while entertainers including a magician and Star Wars characters mingle with the crowds.

We’ve also invited our friends from Dougie Mac and the Donna Louise Children’s Hospice who will be collecting for our beloved local charities – and we also expect BBC Children in Need hero Pudsey bear to be making an appearance.

BBC Radio Stoke presenters Tim Wedgwood and Louise Stones, left, will be hosting the show for us – with Louise counting us down to the big switch-on.

Tim will be looking for the ‘bestdressed’ people in the crowd (think Christmas...) who will win prizes and introducing local performers including the supertalented Lissy Taylor who will be singing a selection of Christmas songs.

From 6.15pm a host of local faces will be joining Louise on stage – including pantomime stars and footballers. Our friends from Penkhull Brass will be adding some sparkle to the evening with some traditional festive music and I’m delighted to say the ddeaflinks ‘silent choir’ will be on stage signing some songs.

There will also be a few surprises before the lights are switched on around 7pm – heralded by a fireworks display to light up the night sky over Hanley.

We hope families will then continue to enjoy the evening, go shopping or perhaps visit Winter Wonderland.

We’ve also included in this festive supplement details of other festive events across Stokeon-trent to encourage people to attend the switch-ons in other towns.

All that remains for me to say is thank you to the city council and all our partner organisations for their contribution to Thursday night.

I can’t legislate for the weather but we hope everyone has a wonderful evening and goes home with a warm glow, with nice things to say about our city centre – because that was the point, really.

We are your Sentinel: #localandproud