Sparkling series of festive events announced

Lantern parades, Christmas markets and live music are among the exciting events announced by Wigan Council to give everyone in the borough the chance to celebrate the festive season in style.

The council’s annual Frost Festival will bring an exciting run of low cost and free family-friendly events to the borough.

Both Frost Festival Wigan (Sunday 24 November) and Frost Festival Leigh (Sunday 17 November) will feature stages of outdoor entertainment, funfairs and Christmas lights switch on celebrations in the town centres.

In addition, Leigh will host the Light Up Leigh dazzling Christmas lantern parade and Frost Feast independent trader pop-up food market, whilst Wigan will welcome the ever-popular Santa Parade, featuring local community groups and performers.

Councillor Chris Ready, cabinet member for communities at Wigan Council, said:
“We’re really proud to be able to offer such a fantastic series of Christmas events this year and we can’t wait to get in the festive spirit.

“We know that lots of people find the festive period particularly challenging financially so we’re glad to be able to offer free and low-cost events for local people to enjoy and we hope everyone who can will come along and enjoy the parades, lights, music and entertainment.”

In the build-up to the festive festivals, Wigan Library will host a Christmas book fair on Saturday 16 November, when everyone is invited to meet local authors, get a head start on Christmas shopping by buying signed copies of books, and enjoy carol singing, circus skills and face painting.

As we get closer to Christmas, Wigan Music Service will present, ‘A Christmas to Remember’, at Robin Park Leisure Centre on 12 December, when Wigan Youth Orchestra will perform a live screening of ‘The Snowman’ along with famous movie theme tunes and a Christmas sing-along.

Both Wigan and Leigh will host Christmas Markets; Wigan on 23, 24, 30 November and 7, 14, 21 December and Leigh on 16, 17, November and 21 December.

And The Grand Arcade in Wigan will host Santa’s Grotto, on selected days between 24 November and 24 December, with tickets available to pre-book online.

There will also be a selection of Christmas themed community events across the borough, throughout the festive period.

More details on the council’s wider festive programme for 2024 can be found on the Visit Wigan website.