With Christmas fast approaching, the Yorkshire Coast BID has pledged its support towards a host of magical initiatives and events in Bridlington, Scarborough, Hornsea, Withernsea and Whitby over the festive period.
Whitby Winter Festival: A special day out for all the family
This year for the first time, the seaside town will be installing a full-size covered real ice rink, right in the centre of Whitby.
The Whitby Winter Festival is a brand-new family focused festival running from the 26 November 2021-30 March 2022. The festival has been put together by the newly formed Welcome to Whitby (WTW), a community-based company that was established to help Whitby and all the local businesses back after the pandemic. The festival itself is being completely run by volunteers and will be a celebration of the area and its businesses.
The centerpiece of the festival is a full sized (10m x 14m) real ice-skating rink! The real ice rink will be under the cover of a marquee on Endeavour Wharf, in the centre of Whitby for around 6 weeks over the festive period. It’s hoped that the ice rink will be a popular attraction to all, bringing in an estimated 6,000 skaters throughout the festival. It’s a great way to bring both the people of Whitby and tourists far and wide to sample all that Whitby has to offer.
With a capacity of 50 skaters, it will be the place to get your Christmas fun fix this winter season: https://whitbywinterfestival.co.uk/tickets/
Whitby Krampus Run
Krampus is returning again this year, ready to shower Whitby with its unique take on Chritstmas traditions from afar! In addition to the Parade on Saturday 4th and the Krampus Ball there are activities planned for over the weekend with a finale on the Sunday.
Organisers, Decadent Drawing, have worked hard with the community to expand the activities throughout the whole town and ways for families and children to get involved. The weekend festivities will also see The Krampus Krumpettes and a reappearance of Mister Fox with their Krampusse team and some new exciting performers in Tengu Taiko Drummers.
The finale will take place on Sunday with the inaugural Whitby Krampus Run Wild Hunt culminating in a very unique horse race.
Scarborough: Grue: A new magical alternative Christmas adventure
A new magical alternative Christmas adventure is coming to the Old Parcels Office in Scarborough this December.
Taking its name from a historic word for snow or shiver, Grue is a walk-through experience for families journeying through forest, town, sea and sky. There will be plenty to marvel at and discover and you’ll even get a paper decoration to make yourself!
Built by the community and made entirely out of recycled and repurposed materials, the project sends out a clear message about what is possible with a bit of imagination and your leftover Christmas packaging.
Slots for Grue are every 5 minutes and it will take 15-20 minutes to walk through the experience. You can book up to 6 people per slot. There will also be refreshments available to buy at the end of the installation.
Grue will be open on weekends 3pm – 7pm and Thursday’s from 4pm throughout December.
Additional dates 20th & 21st December from 3pm. Entry to Grue is ‘Pay What You Can’, meaning it is accessible to everyone. We suggest a £3 donation per ticket.
This BID funded event was created by Wintercroft in collaboration with the creators of Scarborough Stories, ARCADE and commissioned by the Old Parcels Office Arts Centre.
Scarborough Town Festivities
There will be a full programme of town centre events in Scarborough on the first three weekends of December with activities running from 10am until 4pm.
Each weekend will see a different street theatre act interacting with the crowds and leading people towards the ice rink.
The first weekend (3 to 5 December) will see a pair of ten-feet tall, noble and elegant lamp posts, similar to those seen in St Nicholas Gardens, except these are alive and ready for a chat!
The second weekend (10 to 12 December) is ‘bouncing weekend’ with Roo’d at Christmas appearing on Saturday. They are two bouncing kangaroos from Australia, confused by the cold – will provide a down-under Christmas experience. On the Sunday, they’ll be replaced by bouncing elves getting into all sorts of mischief.
The third weekend (17 to 19 December) will see the beautiful and engaging Ghost Caribou, giant, illuminated creatures, part caribou and part spirit, roam a mystical world accompanied by a wild herdsperson.
To accompany the street theatre, there’ll be activities for children and workshops where you can learn a few Christmas crafts and even some circus skills.
Scarborough Gift Card
Scarborough Gift Card has reached a milestone 100 businesses all signed up ready to accept the card. Over £50,000 of the cards have been purchased and the great thing is that they can only be redeemed in participating businesses.
Every £1 purchased, is guaranteed to go back into the tills of local businesses and there is a broad range of businesses where they can be spent;. from furniture to food and drink, gifts and even leisure experiences.
The initiative is being spearheaded by town-centre retailers and supported by the Town Scarborough and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce, Town Centre Team, Yorkshire Coast BID, York and North Yorkshire LEP.
Any Scarborough business who has a physical premises can join the scheme and you can join direct here.
Bridlington: Lights Switch On
Bridlington is set to explode this Christmas with A Winter Festival program of events being pulled together by different groups throughout the town led by ROBOT (Regeneration of Bridlington Old Town).
The festivities will begin on Sunday 28th November – The First Sunday of Advent, which will include a countdown and lights switch-on at the Old Town Christmas Tree at 4pm with The Mayor.
Locals can also experience a Lantern Walk, Street entertainment including Bridlington Pipe Band; Bridlington Excelsior Band; Coastal Voices; A Steam Organ; Accordionist; Punch & Judy; Walking Jazz Band, Driffield Town Crier, Children’s Victorian-style rides and Morris Dancing.
In another first – A Merchants’ Market – comprising of traders solely from Bridlington and Old Town will be selling their wares in period costume from specially purchased gazebos along the High Street.
Then, throughout December restaurants and pubs will join in the festivities, to bring visitors back to Old Town, with their own special events – such as Ghost-themed Evenings with Bridlington Paranormal Investigations and other musical entertainments throughout December.
The Winter Festival will also feature Late Night Shopping Events on Thursdays, culminating with another Street Festival on December 19th, when High Street will again be closed – this will include much of the above, with a lovely Christmassy atmosphere, but the highlight will be a Steam Punk Parade mid-afternoon.
Hornsea: Lights Switch On
Decorative festive lighting will bring some Christmas sparkle to Hornsea, providing new opportunities to expand the night-time economy and encourage the public to visit the area after dark, with the lights being switched on the 26th November at 6:30 pm.
Led by the Hornsea & District Chamber of Trade, the lights this year will hopefully boost tourism in the low season, as well as give the local community a reason to smile this Christmas.
Withernsea: Winter Wonderland & Crafters Market
This December will bring about a brand-new event in Withernsea, with a Winter Wonderland and Crafters Market on the 11th December from 2pm – 6pm.
This free event will take place at Valley Gardens and Blue Door pop in with Santa’s Grotto, traditional German Market stalls, live music from Bandarama and Christmas lights and music.
With loads of food & drink stalls along with a raffle and tombola it is bound to be fun for all the family with all proceeds going toward the Food Banks & Shores Centre Pantry. Funded by the Local Growth team at East Riding Council
