Thousands of residents and visitors gathered in Gostrey Meadow, Farnham on 16 November for a dazzling celebration marking the switching on of the town’s Christmas lights.  

The day was filled with community spirit as over 500 performers from15 local schools and theatre groups took to the stage to deliver performances of music, dance, and drama. The showcase of talent captured the magic of Christmas and drew enthusiastic applause from the crowd.

In addition to the live entertainment, there were plenty of side attractions for families. The live nativity scene, Santa’s grotto, snow globe, rodeo reindeer and food and drink stalls proved to be very popular and added to the magic. 

At 4.30pm, the moment everyone had been waiting for arrived. On a countdown from ten, the Mayor of Farnham, Councillor Brodie Mauluka and Greg Stafford, MP for Farnham and Bordon flipped the switch and transformed the town into a twinkling and festive winter wonderland complete with snow.

The celebrations continued with a special performance by the Mayor’s band Brobed Stils. One of the highlights of the set was when the band invited 15-year-old guitarist William Laborde to join them on stage. He wowed the audience with his impressive skills and earned an impressive level of cheering and applause! 

Speaking about the event, Councillor Kika Mirylees, Lead Member for Community and Culture said, “This year’s Christmas lights switch-on was enormous fun! The highlight for me was seeing our Mayor invite two young people, William and Savannah, on stage to perform Johnny B. Goode with his band. It was wonderful to see so many children and families enjoying the festivities.” 

The event, which was organised by Farnham Town Council and sponsored by Leightons Opticians & Hearing Care and Shaw Gibbs, marks the beginning of a series of festive activities for Farnham. The next big event is the Christmas Market which is on Sunday 8 December. 

For more information visit www.farnham.gov.uk.