Thame’s town centre is sparkling!
On Friday 30 November Thame hosted its annual Christmas Lights Switch-On event. The event was very well attended with a range of festive stalls, tasty food, attractions and entertainment on offer.
Father Christmas made the special journey with two of his adorable Reindeer to visit his Grotto and wish the people of Thame a Merry Christmas. There were some fantastic festive photo opportunities with Rapunzel and Tinkerbell and in the human-sized snow globe.
This year’s Grotto was generously sponsored by CALA Homes. Sharon Thind, Marketing Manager for CALA Homes (Chiltern), comments: “As a company that cares about the neighbourhoods in which it builds, we are committed to making a positive contribution to the community – and what better time to spread goodwill and joy than at Christmas? We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to sponsor the Santa’s Grotto at the Thame Christmas Lights Switch-On, and trust that local children and their families enjoyed their visit to Santa.”
An impressive line-up of entertainment saw dazzling dancers, spectacular soloists and captivating choirs perform throughout the evening. Stalls lined the High Street offering an abundance of scrumptious street food and gorgeous gifts, and some of our independent shops stayed open late – many of them are also staying open late on Thursdays throughout December so do come and support them by shopping locally this year (click here for details).
The annual lantern parade, featuring beautifully hand-made willow lanterns courtesy of Thame’s Primary Schools, was made extra special this year as the Reindeer led the parade, with thanks to Thame Air Cadets for their operational support.
Crowds then gathered around the tree to hear Rev. Rachel Cross’ Christmas Blessing and the winner of the town trail was announced by the Mayor of Thame. Well done to 7 year old Lacey Rose Chegwin who was chosen as the winner and received four tickets to Thame Player’s panto this year. The runners up, Harry Petheram, Henry Humphrey, Florence Rayner and Kate Gossage, received an giant iced chocolate lollipop each courtesy of Rumsey’s.
Father Christmas arrived on his sleigh and, once on the podium, the much awaited for countdown began for the switch-on. As Lacey Rose and the Mayor pushed the plunger on the lights, the crowds cheered and the town centre sparkled. Thame Concert Band accompanied the community carol singing to round off a wonderful evening.
Thank you to ASM Auto Recycling for donating the tree, CALA Homes for sponsoring Santa’s Grotto and to our event sponsors: Kubota, Connect Scaffolding, Lucy Electric, Risborough Carers, JJ Plumbing & Heating, 3B Vehicle Hire & Servicing, Fisher German and Thame & District Housing Association, and all of our sponsors and supporters this year. The event simply wouldn’t be possible without the generous support we receive from local businesses and the community. The Town Council wishes everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We always strive to improve this event for everyone involved and this year we are running a survey https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/T2M5679. Please spare 5 minutes to give us your feedback.
Give us your feedback View the image gallery
Date posted: Thursday 6 December 2018