Details of Scarborough's Christmas Lights Switch On, and how to see Mrs Claus

The Christmas countdown begins in Scarborough next Thursday with the Christmas lights switch-on.
Christmas lights. Picture by Richard PonterChristmas lights. Picture by Richard Ponter
Christmas lights. Picture by Richard Ponter

Celebrities Chris Gasgoyne, best known for playing Peter Barlow in Coronation Street, and Twinnie Lee Moore, actress and rising country music star, will be lighting up the town centre.

Scarborough Light Switch will run from 4pm to 7.30pm and marks the start of a six-week Counting Down to Christmas Festival.

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During the switch-on the crowds will also be entertained by the cast of Cinderella from the Spa, the YMCA’s cast of Jack and the Beanstalk and the Treasure Island cast from the Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Chris Gasgoyne, best known for playing Peter Barlow, will switch the lights on.Chris Gasgoyne, best known for playing Peter Barlow, will switch the lights on.
Chris Gasgoyne, best known for playing Peter Barlow, will switch the lights on.

There will also be entertainment from local performers including Magic Mike, Ryan Swain and Rachel Maneka.

Chris Gasgoyne and Twinnie Lee Moore will be signing autographs in the Brunswick Shopping Centre afterwards.

The Counting Down to Christmas Festival, new to the town this year, has been created by businesses with funding from the Yorkshire Coast Business Improvement District (BID).

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This year, its not just Santa that is coming to town, but Mrs Claus is visiting as well.

Crowds in the street for the light switch on in 2015. Picture by Richard PonterCrowds in the street for the light switch on in 2015. Picture by Richard Ponter
Crowds in the street for the light switch on in 2015. Picture by Richard Ponter

Santa will arrive by boat into the harbour on Saturday November 16 accompanied by pirates and will visit Mrs Claus at the Brunswick Shopping Centre where she is to set up her Christmas HQ.

Alongside a team of elves from her HQ, she will help in the run-up to Christmas with reindeer food-making demonstrations, toy-testing workshops and the launch of the town’s Christmas Post Office.

Children can take part in several workshops, try out the latest toys, post a letter to Santa, donate Christmas gifts and food to the Salvation Army and Rotary Club collections and get an elf makeover.

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“Christmas can be such a stressful time for young families so, with her HQ at the Brunswick Centre – a mum’s favourite for festive shopping with its huge range of top stores – Mrs Claus is doing everything she can to make sure that everyone gets in the feel-good festive spirit this year,” explained Sue Anderson-Brown, manager at Brunswick Shopping Centre and chair of the town’s new Christmas Steering Group.

In his more traditional role, Father Christmas will welcome children to his Grotto in Boyes.

He will also invite families to join him on the North Bay Railway throughout December, or meet him in his underwater wonderland at Sealife Scarborough.

The festival will continue throughout November and December with a cast of magicians, musicians, street performers, and famous panto characters. From December 10-15, the town will step into the world of Dickens’ Christmas Carol, when Queen Victoria makes a royal visit for her 200th birthday celebrations to a Victorian market in the town centre.

For more information, including a full line-up of events, visit www.scarboroughchristmas.co.uk

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