Santa setting a course for Bray and Greystones
CHRISTMAS lights will be switched on in both Bray and Greystones on Saturday afternoon, with celebrations in both towns.
In Bray, the switch on will take place at the Civic Plaza, with entertainment starting at 4.30 p.m. and the official switch on at 5.15 p.m.
The show, hosted by East Coast FM’s Ryan O’Neill, will feature a very special visitor coming all the way from the North Pole. He will draw the lucky raffle ticket to select a child to push the button and turn on the lights.
In Greystones, festivities get under way at 4 p.m. in Burnaby Park, with festive music, an ecumenical service, and Santa’s arrival by fire truck.
Paul Byrne of Greystones Guide will be the MC for the event, with music and songs by Templecarrig school choir, ‘Classic Harmony’, and ‘ The Quueen who Cancelled Christmas’. Cathaorileach of Greystones Municipal District Nicola Lawless and Ross McParland from Greystones 2020 will switch on the display. There will be more than one kilometre of icicle lights throughout the town, as well as two 30-foot Christmas trees, each adorned with 3,000 lights, one at the train station and one at the Marina. In Bray, amateur snappers are invited to enter a Christmas photo competition, with a prize to the value of €1,000. Just capture a special Christmas moment in Bray, and use the #ChristmasInBray hashtag when sharing on social media. The closing date for entries is Wednesday, December 19.
Cathaoirleach of Bray Municipal District Pat Vance is encouraging people to shop local this Christmas season. Parking is free in council car parks at weekends throughout December.
‘Local retailers are one of the pillars of our local economy and they really deserve our support,’ said Cllr Vance. ‘For every €1 you spend with a local independent business, between 50c-70c circulates back into your local economy, while shopping online or out-of-town sees only 5c trickle back so with free parking at weekend it makes perfect sense for everyone to shop local this year.’