Thousands flock to see Christmas Lights switch on and fireworks in Leighton Buzzard

Thousands gathered in the High Street on Friday evening to start the festive season in Leighton Buzzard with the switching on of the Christmas lights.

Chair of LB First, Gennaro Borrelli lead the countdown and was joined on stage by the Mayor, Councillor Farzana Kharawala, the Leighton-Linslade Carnival Court, Andrew Selous MP and special guest, England and Saracens fly-half Zoe Harrison.

The Christmas craft and gift market along with the food court, funfair and Santa’s Grotto provided entertainment for the town with stage entertainment provided by local performers and compered by Leighton Buzzard Better Speakers Club.

Mr Borrelli said: "It was amazing. I just thought everything was perfect. We had a really good turnout of people; a bigger crowd than I expected considering England was playing. It was a lovely atmosphere and the layout was perfect, with the food court in Church Square and the funfair rides. The entertainment on stage was amazing, everyone did so well, all the acts we had on stage created a nice atmosphere.

"We had guests on the stage, the Mayor who gave a lovely speech, our local MP, two carnival princesses and prince, and our VIP guest Zoe Harrison who was very excited about switching on the lights for us. It was amazing to see how many Saracens supporters were in the crowd shouting her name, which was lovely. She got a really big cheer, having just come back from New Zealand! There was a big count down, the lights went on, and there was a lovely fireworks display, with one of the bands playing Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas is You'."

Throughout Saturday, the Charter Market and Handmade and Craft Market continued to be popular alongside the KidsOut Santa Dash organised by Leighton Fun Runners and the funfair.

Meanwhile, shoppers "turned out in their hundreds" to find gifts for loved ones, treats for a special weekend or to sample some of the performers within the High Street on Sunday. There’s Nothing Like a Dame, Lissie Allsopp, James Allen, and Jingle Bells provided festive entertainment throughout the day, while visitors also enjoyed free cupcake decorating workshops and festive balloon models.

Mr Borrelli added: "I made a point of welcoming not just the visitors to our town, but new residents, too, as our town is expanding and it's important to make them feel part of the community and bring them together. It's a nice way to kick off the festive season and important because we are the third largest town in Bedfordshire; hopefully people will recognise what's on offer here. Everyone goes away at the end of the evening feeling they have enjoyed themselves, and children will grow up with these wonderful memories."

Leighton-Linslade Town Council would like to extend its thanks to all who made the festival weekend possible and for the support of LB First through the planning and delivery of the event. Meanwhile, LB First wishes to thank the Town Council staff for all their hard work, all the volunteers and helpers behind the scenes, all the performers and entertainers, and everyone who came along to support the weekend.

Feedback on the Christmas Festival Weekend can be submitted to the events team via email: [email protected]