* Sion Corn heads for the festival on skis via Plas Newydd.
Siorn Corn – the Welsh Santa Claus –
has been checking out the quickest way to reach Llangollen when it stages its
annual Christmas Festival on Saturday November 30.
Thousands of seasonal revellers are
expected to come flocking to the Denbighshire tourist spot for the big event.
And as Sion Corn will be starring in
the traditional parade and wants to make sure he’s there in good time on the
day he’s been trying out various modes of travel.
First up was a pair of skis and he
reckons they might do the trick.
He said: “It was a bit tough
checking them out when there was no snow but I did find a suitable slope in the
beautiful surroundings of Plas Newydd, home of the Ladies of Llangollen, which
gave me some idea of what it would be like coming in from Lapland on the day.
“The holly berries that have
appeared on the trees helped provide a festive atmosphere.”
Over the next few weeks Sion Corn
will be trying out a few more ways of getting to Llangollen on time.
Kicking off at 1pm with the famous parade,
which sees Sion Corn being escorted into town over the historic bridge by a
colourful cavalcade of entertainers and local groups, the event features
children’s fairground rides, food stalls, choirs, craft stalls, circus acts and
face painting.
There will also be a chance for
youngsters to visit Sion Corn in his glorious grotto and put in their early
requests from what they’d like to see him bring them on Christmas
morning.
During the afternoon visitors can
look forward to an eclectic mix of musical entertainment from local groups on
two outdoor stages and other on-street entertainment.
The fun-packed day rounds off at 5pm
with the ceremonial switching on of Llangollen’s legendary Christmas lights and
a firework extravaganza.
Llangollen Christmas Festival is
organised by a group of dedicated community volunteers. It costs over £4,000 to stage each year and is
self-funding.
The festival aims
to provide a free family-orientated event in the safety of the town centre with
surplus funds being donated to Wales Air Ambulance and local community groups.
Over the last couple of years the
police have estimated that the spectacular event draws over 2,000 people into
town during the course of the afternoon.
For the third year the festival has
teamed up with Light Up Local Food, a project aimed at promoting
Llangollen-based food and drink producers.
Chairman of the festival committee
Austin ‘Chem’ Cheminais, who is also the local town crier and a member of the
town council, said: “With the help of the community we manage, each year, to
raise just about enough to fund the event and give a little to charity.
“Last year’s festival was
particularly successful thanks to the good weather and the feedback from those
attending was very positive.
“The ‘market’ feel to the event
provided by Light UP Local Food was particularly commented upon and helped to
attract visitors from much further afield.
“Once again we’re expecting a bumper
crowd to come along and help us to give a great early start to
Christmas.”
Festival organisers have also
arranged for free parking throughout the day at local car parks.
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