Christmas in the City
Last week’s Christmas lights switch on in Lancaster was a huge success, seeing 300 ‘Santa-dashers’, 4,000 visitors to Lancaster Castle and a huge number of visitors to shops, bars, cafes and restaurants throughout the town during the day. Shopping centres St Nics and Marketgate have reported an 80% increase in footfall throughout the day.
The day was orchestrated and supported by Lancaster Unlimited, also known as Lancaster’s Business Improvement District (BID), who have recently supported a number of new and exciting events drawing crowds into the city centre. Last month’s ‘Light Up the Streets’, part of the city’s 4 day ‘Light Up Lancaster’ festival saw huge numbers in the city, and this year’s biggest ever Christmas Lights Switch on has also proven a great success.
Suzi Bunting, Lancaster BID Manager expresses her delight at the event: ‘I was delighted to hear of businesses who opened on Sundays as a trial and those who are intending to continue to be open on Sundays and late night Thursdays from now until Christmas. It was great to welcome new business with some new shops opening their doors for the first time to do business in the City, including Blue Inc in Market Gate. I was also delighted to hear of visitors who came to Lancaster from as far as Stoke, Birmingham and Liverpool!’
Now Lancaster Unlimited ensures the season’s festivities don’t stop here. The Business Improvement District, along with Lancaster City Council and BID contributors have produced an enormous program of events in and around the city centre to keep the Christmas spirit alive, even in these dark, damp days.
Late night Christmas shopping starts this Thursday, and together with free parking from 6-9pm and all day Sunday provided by Marketgate and Lancaster City Council, there’s no excuse to miss bagging a bargain somewhere in the city centre!
Added to that there is something happening every weekend in December.
With everything from choir concerts to a Medieval Christmas, Santa workshops and Christmas markets, the Lancaster BID and surrounding area are working together to create a magical atmosphere in the city this year.
Suzi Bunting said “I’m always so proud to be a part of this wonderful community here in Lancaster but especially at this time of year when there’s so much for our visitors and residents to do and look forward to.”
Running through the whole of the festive period (29th November to 4th January) is “A Christmas Carol” at the Dukes Playhouse. This timeless classic is surely loved by all and its long run mean lots of opportunities to see the performance.
The full program of events can be found on dedicated Facebook page ‘Lancaster – Winter in the City’ and further information is always available from Lancaster Visitor Information Centre.
This article posted by David Morgan thebestof Lancaster. For information about the Lancaster and Morecambe area visit wwwlancaster@thebestof.co.uk/lancaster or contact David by telephone on 07877 346450, by email Lancaster@thebestof.co.uk
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