Festive Entertainment Planned in Derby Cathedral Quarter
Businesses in Derby’s Cathedral Quarter have teamed up to organise a programme of traditional festive entertainment – with a twist – this December.
A disused shop in Blacksmith’s Yard off Sadler Gate will be transformed into a Dickensian-style Santa’s Grotto providing families with a traditional venue to visit Father Christmas on three Saturdays in the run up to Christmas, starting on Saturday December 3 and continuing until Saturday 17th December.
The Grotto will be free of charge but donations will be invited for local charity Treats which supports underprivileged children with gifts, holidays and trips to brighten their lives.
Outside the grotto, there will be a bustling street market with stalls from local businesses offering refreshments and gift ideas.
And local bands and performers will entertain visitors to the Blacksmith’s Yard throughout the day with a diverse programme of music from traditional festive music to jazz and folk.
Meanwhile, the Cathedral Quarter has teamed up with renowned local street theatre group, The Lost Boys, to bring their unique buzz to the streets.
The actors will be posing as a film crew and characters from a Christmas Carol to engage with members of the public – asking them about the meaning of Christmas with footage posted for the world to see on utube.
The Cathedral Quarter Christmas entertainment programme is in addition to the attractions organised by Derby LIVE including an ice rink in the Market Place and street entertainment in the area.
Paul Hurst from Sadlergates is one of the organisers of the Christmas entertainment. He said: “Our aim is to make the Cathedral Quarter the place to be in the run up to Christmas. This will be the third year of Santa in Sadler Gate and I am delighted that we now have a special grotto for Santa to welcome children.
“We wanted to continue to make the grotto free of charge for families but I am confident that visitors this year will be as generous as they have been previously and support Treats through donations – helping them to bring some cheer to the lives of children who often go without.”
Fellow organiser Martin Roper from Scenario in The Strand added: “We introduced music on Saturdays in the approach to Christmas for the first time last year and the response both from local businesses and from the public was amazing.
“Sadler Gate has always been the entertainment and retail heart of Derby so we wanted to organise something that was even bigger and better this year.
“Blacksmith’s Yard is the perfect venue for the Dickensian grotto and entertainment and involving The Lost Boys in engaging visitors throughout the area and encouraging them to come and visit us will create a real buzz in the Cathedral Quarter.”
For more information about all the events in the Cathedral Quarter this Christmas, please visit www.derbycathedralquarter.co.uk
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