The Rock in Bury will be home to a unique Snow Globe experience this Christmas, as the shopping and entertainment destination unveils the giant globe at its Christmas Light’s Switch-On on Thursday 18th November 2010.

The oversized Snow Globe will provide the perfect photo experience and an interactive alternative to the traditional Santa’s Grotto, appealing to visitors of all ages. The public can climb inside the huge Snow Globe, which measures five metres in diameter, to enjoy the winter wonderland that waits inside and have festive photographs taken with family and friends.

The Snow Globe will take centre stage within St John’s Square over the Christmas period, alongside; artificial illuminated reindeers, which will be found grazing on the green roof of Costa Coffee; an eight metre-high Christmas Tree and the streets will be adorned with stunning decorations, paying homage to Bury’s cotton and paper industry. 

Celebrations to unveil the Christmas decorations will kick off on the 18th November at 4pm, with a lantern parade from 6pm. The lights will be officially switched on at 6:30pm and there will be entertainment on the main stage running through to 8pm.

A host of festive entertainment is arranged to make The Rock’s first Christmas Light’s Switch-On an evening to remember. Special guests, the Northern Royal Ballet cast of The Nutcracker, will be performing inside the Snow Globe and will join the lantern parade, which will be led by a local family.

The Rock launched a competition last week to search for a local family to lead the procession and children from schools across Bury are busy making Christmas lanterns, which they will carry as they parade through The Rock. There is still time to enter the competition to lead the parade - just write to info@therockbury.com by the 15th November and explain what you like most about the Rock. The winning family will also be given £200 to spend at The Rock - ideal for all those Christmas presents!

To add a fashion element to the event, The Rock will be showcasing the latest winter must-haves in a Narnia–inspired catwalk show, to coincide with the release of the third film ‘Voyage of the Dawn Treader’ from the Chronicles of Narnia series. The film will be showing at The Rock’s Vue cinema in December.

The Christmas Light’s Switch-On will showcase The Rock’s Street Star competition talent, as each of the ten finalists will take to the stage for the last time to wow the crowds. The public will then be asked to vote on facebook (www.facebook.com/therockbury) over the Christmas period, with the overall winner announced in the New Year.

Nikki Kitchen, marketing manager for The Rock, commented: “This will be The Rock’s first ever Christmas Light Switch-On, so we want to set a high standard for coming years and make it an evening to remember.  We can’t wait to unveil the Snow Globe. It will be a great attraction for the area and will create a fun and festive respite for shoppers during the busy Christmas period.”

To find out more about The Rock please visit www.therockbury.com or read the feature here