A magical Christmas in Kingston

Kingston will be the First to Let the Magic Happen as it launches its programme of festive fun for this Christmas.

Santa will this year be joined by Cinderella, star of the Rose Theatre's festive pantomime, for the big Christmas Lights Switch-On which takes place on Thursday, November 15th.

The switch-on is one of the most exciting events in Kingston's calendar, attracting thousands of visitors to the Town Centre for an afternoon of fun and entertainment in the Bentalls and Eden Walk shopping centres before the star-studded switch-on.

Cinderella will help to make this year's switch-on an especially glittering occasion ahead of the performances of Cinderella, The Midnight Princess, which are staged at the Rose Theatre from November 30 until January 6.

Kingston's Market Place will be transformed into a historic winter wonderland throughout the festive period with a Tudor Market providing the perfect place to buy some tasty treats in the run-up to Christmas.

Stalls will be housed in Tudor-style wooden chalets helping to produce evocative sights, sounds and smells of a traditional Christmas.

Once again, Eden Craft Fair will be held in All Saints' Parish Church from the night of the lights switch-on right up to Christmas Eve, providing shoppers with a unique opportunity to buy a more unusual Christmas present.

The Kingston Spotlight competition is this year providing extra entertainment for shoppers at key Town Centre locations in the run-up to Christmas. Choirs, musicians, dancers and street theatre groups are among those already lined up to perform for passers-by.

Ros Morgan, chief executive of Kingstonfirst, said: "We are delighted to once again provide something for everyone in the run-up to Christmas.

"You can be first to have Christmas wrapped up thanks to our festive markets, in addition of course to our outstanding offering of more than 500 shops and businesses throughout the town centre, who will be offering late-night shopping on November 15; plus every night from December 3 right up until Christmas Eve."

There is also the opportunity to win some great prizes in the Kingstonfirst Christmas competition. Prizes include a year's free parking at NCP Cattle Market; a Christmas in Kingston package by Chase Lodge and the Rose Theatre; a £100 voucher to spend in Bentalls; a Hotel Chocolat hamper worth £50, a two-course meal for two at Pizza Express and a tartan travel rug donated by Edinburgh Woollen Mill.

Simply pick up an entry form from key locations throughout the Town Centre (the Rose Theatre box office, Bentalls customer service or the Visitor Information Centre in Market Place) or download an entry form at www.kingstonfirst.co.uk