Chippenham's BID Classic Christmas Light Switch On 2016

Celebrating Chippenham’s official start to Christmas is a time honoured tradition, which of course begins with the illumination of the town adorned in magical Christmas lights, showcasing a selection of well-loved festive activities and experiences for all the family to enjoy! Enter Chippenham BID’s second Light Switch On, which is all set to take place on Friday 25th November.

Situated at Chippenham’s beautiful Market Place, this year’s event will welcome back some of the traditional activities of Chippenham’s Christmases past, including Santa himself abseiling over the beautiful Angel Hotel...yet the piece de résistance are our fabulous special guests who will be joining us fresh from rehearsals for Cinderella at The Bristol Hippodrome this Christmas – Britain’s most beloved sporting heroes, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean.

Live entertainment will fill the town centre from 4pm, where visitors can enjoy festive performances which include live music, festive walk-about characters, choirs, dance troupes, creation stations at Emery Gate Shopping Centre, festive story-telling at The Neeld Community and Arts Centre and more – plus a few surprises throughout the crowd during the evening…

The main stage at the Market Place will be live from 5:45pm, hosted by the energetic Ben and Mel from Heart FM and will see a whole selection of quality performances from our local community and beyond; including aerial hoopists, musical performances, a fabulous show courtesy of Chippenham’s Dancing Academy and more. Santa will then be welcomed into Chippenham as he departs his sleigh and begins his descent down The Angel Hotel, where he will join Olympic Gold Medallists and sporting legends Torvill & Dean on stage to officially begin the countdown and illuminate the town centre. If that’s not enough sparkle for you, the evening will culminate in a breath-taking firework display, dancing across the rooftops of Chippenham’s lively hub of businesses.

Matthew Powell, Interim BID Manager of Chippenham BID, said:

“Of course, the BID is funded by the businesses within the Chippenham BID area, as well as Chippenham Town Council –so by working in partnership, we are delighted to bring these events to the town together to begin the festive season. Chippenham has a great deal to offer and we know the town has already started to get into the spirit. We look forward to celebrating yet another great year”.

Nicole Johnston, Chippenham BID Director and Chair of the BID’s Events Sub-Committee, said:

“We are thrilled to have the fantastic Christmas celebrations in Chippenham back at the Market Place. This year’s event is going to have a great deal of ‘wow’ factor with new and exciting acts and surprises, yet I think there will be elements that Chippenham residents know and love to bring that extra bit of sparkle”

The team are also extremely excited to be welcoming such legendary sporting heroes to the town to officially switch on the lights. Steve Jones, Marketing Manager at The Bristol Hippodrome said:

“We are delighted to be working with Chippenham again this year for what we know will be a fun filled fantastic Christmas light switch on event. We know that Torvill & Dean will enjoy visiting the town whilst helping them to start the festive season!”

From 2006 to 2014, Torvill and Dean became prime time TV favourites as coaches, choreographers and performers in ITV's Dancing on Ice also taking the show on the road in their national UK tours. In 2014, Torvill and Dean returned to Sarajevo to dance the Bolero one more time, celebrating the 30 year anniversary of their Olympics performance. Torvill and Dean will now be swapping their usual ice skates for inline skates to perform the classic tale of Cinderella in a breath-taking family extravaganza with glittering sets, gorgeous costumes, big song and dance numbers, bags of audience participation, real Shetland ponies and jaw-dropping skating sequences!

Of course, the magic doesn’t stop there. Each and every Saturday in Chippenham leading up to Christmas, Chippenham BID will be bringing you more fun and free events suitable for the whole family alongside other town centre businesses, including magical winter creatures, festive attractions, competitions and give-aways.

The best part? All of these events and activities are completely FREE to enjoy – so you can focus on taking a little time out of the busy Christmas period to have a little fun in your local town!

Keep up to date with all things Christmas by checking out our website at: www.chippenhamconnected.com

Plus like us on Facebook: @ChippenhamConnected and Twitter: @ChipConnected to discover all the latest news and competitions.

For further details on Cinderella please visit www.atgtickets.com/bristol

We can’t wait to see you there!


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