High Street to host festive market, lights switch-on and free fun
Gosport High Street will host a full-on day of free festive fun on Saturday 25 November.
Supported by Gosport Borough Council, the day will include a special seasonal market, a Christmas lights switch-on show, street entertainment and family activities.
The new Anchored in Gosport festive heritage market will feature products ranging from bespoke jewellery and locally-made Christmas gifts to sweet treats, cakes, mulled wine and festive street food.
Organised for the council by Nest and Anchor Events, it will run from 10am to 8pm and will include around 40 visiting traders, local market favourites, food and drink stalls, a balloon artist and a pop-up spray-painting studio.
Throughout the day there will be free activities and entertainment presented on behalf of the council by Hampshire Cultural Trust.
From 11am to 2pm, visitors can get creative with the Give it a Go festival at Gosport Museum and Art Gallery and the Imagination Refinery, with free festive-themed activities, games and workshops.
Street entertainers will mingle with the crowd, including angels with lit-up wings and characters from the ballet The Nutcracker.
People will be able to take part in a spectacular community sensory experience called Congregation. It will run at 12pm, 1.40pm and 2.55pm, and will culminate in a parade of illuminated umbrellas.
The main stage, sponsored by local full-fibre broadband provider toob, will host a variety of live entertainment, including a closing show by local band The Spoils.
Free buses will run between Fareham bus station and Gosport High Street. More information on these will be available on the Anchored in Gosport Facebook page or at www.anchoredingosport.co.uk
Cllr Peter Chegwyn, Leader of the Council, said: "This is going to be a very special day, with so much going on for free. Our brand-new festive market, the first of a series of bespoke events, is bound to be popular. And at the same time, we'll have street entertainment, activities for families and our traditional stage show leading up to the big switch-on."
Lucy Ashton, cultural development manager at Hampshire Cultural Trust, said: "We're thrilled to be presenting this year's Christmas lights switch-on and have a packed programme of activities and entertainment in store for the whole family. Of course, there will be all the traditional festive favourites that everyone expects of the lights switch-on, and we're particularly excited to be hosting a Christmas version of our Give it a Go festival after it was such a hit in the summer.
"But we'll also be bringing something a little bit different and a little bit new this year. It really will be a day to remember."
A Nest and Anchor Events spokesperson said: "We are so excited to be able to bring our unique brand of 'more than a market' to Gosport High Street. Being a part of the regeneration plans to bring in new traders and increase footfall for the High Street is a huge honour and a challenge and we are more than willing to step up to the plate."
Stage schedule:
12.30pm: Community Choir
1.10pm: Chris Ricketts - shanty songs
1.55pm: St Vincent College music department
2.25pm: Ellie-Louise May
2.40pm: Emily Simpson
3.10pm: Synchronize Hip Hop School
3.55pm: Lucy and Mark - faulty Christmas carol jukebox
5pm: Big Noise Community Samba Band
5.45pm: Lights countdown
6pm: Lights switch-on by former museum manager Wendy Redman
6.05pm: The Spoils
For updates on the events see:
Share this page
