‘Families are in for a festive
THERE are lots of things that make me incredibly proud of this city – and the fantastic community spirit is right up there at the top. It’s something we have in spades – and it’s what will make this year’s Christmas celebrations incredibly special.
After lots of hard work by a group of great organisations, we’re about to see that wonderful part of Stokeon-trent’s character in full festive force as the whole community comes together to celebrate a Proper Stokie Christmas!
The countdown officially begins on Thursday, November 15 when we start the season in style with the light switch-on event in the city centre.
This year we’ve had the fantastic opportunity to work with The Sentinel and BBC Radio Stoke to put together a show-stopping programme of family fun.
Everyone involved wanted the celebrations to be about the people of Stoke-on-trent, featuring the people of Stoke-on-trent and enjoyed by the people of Stoke-ontrent. We wanted to get as many local people involved as possible – for everyone to come together, celebrate the city, and enjoy this wonderful time of year.
Having heard what’s in store, I can guarantee families are in for a festive treat and that there really is something for everyone. We’ve got children’s activities, footballers, panto stars and a brass band, to name just a few.
We had to pull a few seasonal strings, but Santa’s even made space in his very busy diary to arrive on our land train – and he will be bringing some of his reindeer with him too! But he isn’t the only special guest. I’m very pleased to say that our local celebrities have pulled out all the stops and once again given their time to help us celebrate. We’re very grateful for all they’re doing to make this an evening to remember.
I’m also proud of the involvement from our primary schools. We set them the challenge in September to come up with a ‘song for Christmas’. The results were amazing and the judging panel had a tough time choosing a winning choir from each of our six towns. They really have outdone themselves, but we shouldn’t have expected anything less from the fantastic young people of this city.
As part of my role at the council, I often see the amazing things that young people bring to Stoke-ontrent – and their role in the Proper Stokie Christmas is a shining example of this. The fact they are leading the way at this event and showing off their incredible talent is really inspiring. Well done to everyone involved – I can’t wait for you to show the city what you’ve got.
The event also marks the start of Christmas late-night shopping, and lots of stores in the city centre will be throwing open their doors until 9pm, and this will continue every Thursday in the run up to Christmas. It’s a fantastic chance to support our local businesses and I’d urge everyone to take advantage of this opportunity and visit some of the wonderful traders we have in the city.
And there’s more! The council has also been supporting towns and communities across the city to stage their own celebrations. Burslem’s and Longton’s Christmas lights switch-ons will both take place on November 30.
The big switch-on in Stoke will start at 3pm on 18 November.
In Tunstall, festivities will start