It’s beginning to look like… another amazing Love Topsham Christmas
Volunteers in the east Devon town of Topsham are dusting off the decorations ahead of a spectacular programme of Christmas events ranging from lights and stilt-walking entertainers to a unique market featuring dozens of artisan stalls.
The programme begins on Friday November 25 with three major events in the town.
The first is The Big Switch On, a half hour of entertainment between 4.30pm and 5pm at the town’s Matthews Hall - there will be festive food, music, a Town Crier in full illuminated regalia and spectacular stilt-walkers ahead of the lights countdown.
The action then swings to Topsham Quay where from 5.15pm until 6pm there’s a family-friendly extravaganza with a choir, Father Christmas and another jaw-dropping stilt-walking display - plus a few surprises for children and adults alike.
Then until 8pm at the town’s St Margaret’s Church there will be the second annual Love Topsham Festive Market, where over 30 craft stalls from people in the town and beyond will have unique gifts, decorations, food and drink on sale.
All the events are organised by Love Topsham, a non-profit making group of local volunteers who support the town’s traders and associations. Details of the group’s Christmas events, and year-round activities, can be found on lovetopsham.co.uk.
“It’s been a tough year for many with perhaps tougher times to come, so let’s make this Christmas one to remember for all the right reasons - and it starts in Topsham on November 25” explains Love Topsham chairperson Ned Hoste.
“We would say this wouldn’t we, but the lights really are amongst the best you’ll see anywhere this Christmas, while the Festive Market is an even bigger and better version building on the hugely popular one we held a year ago” he continues.
“This really is an ideal way to start for locals and visitors alike to celebrate, get in the Christmas mood and bag some gorgeous presents too. The town’s restaurants and pubs will be open as well - do come and make an evening of it!”
The town’s Christmas preparations continue a few days later with the Traders’ Late Night Shopping Evening on Tuesday November 29. The town’s 50 independent shops, eateries and pubs will open until late to allow you to buy that perfect present. There will also be a musical backdrop - the 25-person Exmouth A Cappella group will be criss-crossing Topsham’s streets to entertain shoppers for this unique evening.
Love Topsham’s celebrations go on into December with competitions for the best dressed shop windows and residents’ spectacular displays outside their homes, as well as a trail for children just before schools break up for the holidays.
Full details are on www.lovetopsham.co.uk
