Camberley Town Centre starts the festive season with a record-breaking event…
2nd December 2021
On Saturday 20th November, Camberley town centre was treated to a day-long festive event which started the Christmas festivities with a bang, with near to 50,000 visitors and a record sales day for many businesses.
Collectively Camberley Business Improvement District (Love Camberley) hosted a magical celebration with an extensive offering of free activities and entertainment across the whole town centre.
The day started at 10am with a bustling Christmas Market on High Street, organised alongside Surrey Markets. The market was joined by a free face-painter and a free family activity where visitors could try out the sport of curling. Several Camberley town centre businesses and community groups also joined in with stalls. Shoppers were treated to the smooth sounds of Bob on his saxophone, who added further atmosphere to the buzz of High Street.
Katherine Diggins-Barnes, Owner of Love From Betty said; “As a small, independent business owner, we always get involved with the Collectively Camberley events. For the Christmas Lights event, we had a free stall at the Christmas market. As our shop is a little further out of town, it is great to have the opportunity to bring our business into the centre as this really helps us to promote our products and create links with customers for the future. Just because our shop isn’t in the centre of town, doesn’t mean we miss out and we would recommend to all businesses to get involved where you can. We made a lot of sales at the event and really enjoyed the day!”
Throughout the day, the town centre streets were filled with vibrant street acts and amazing live music. Visitors were snapping a selfie with a stilt walking Christmas tree and beautiful Tooth Fairy handing out goody bags with Atrium Dental.”
The two naughty Grannies (Granny Turismo) were back causing mischief all over the town, making people laugh and join in with their dancing and cheeky jokes. Meanwhile, children were requesting balloon models and magic tricks from other talented entertainers.
At various stages in the day, the weather forecast changed to ‘snowing’ in Camberley. These wonderful white Christmas moments were brought to Park Street by The Atrium and really added a sense of magic and awe to the event.
From 11am-3pm, two real reindeer came out to say hello on Park Street. Visitors were able to meet the reindeer and learn all about them from their knowledgeable handlers. The real reindeer were kindly sponsored by Camberley Estate Agents, Seymours.
Mark Schweizer, Franchisee -MLS Operations Limited t/a McDonald’s said; “ I was absolutely delighted by the incredible buzz and excitement around our town during the turning on of the Christmas Lights. As a business owner I achieved record footfall numbers and a record-breaking hour of sales which is unbelievable. I would like to thank the Collectively Camberley team for yet another stunning event, showcasing to all those visitors what a wonderful and vibrant town we have.”
Inside of The Square Shopping Centre, Peppa Pig was meeting excited children, whilst Santa’s Post Office opened its doors and welcomed in families. Santa’s Post Office is currently open on Obelisk Way on selected dates throughout December.
On Park Street, the big stage was full of local singers, dancers and performers, including Camberley Theatre, DJ Bongo, The Secret Stage School, Creative Minds Academy and Bluebell Ballet School who kept crowds entertained all day. The Rockabellas then took to the stage for an hour long set, adding to the party like atmosphere, right up until the light switch on moment…
At 4:45pm, Father Christmas came onto stage. He was joined by The Mayor of Surrey Heath, the cast of Jack and the Beanstalk Panto (Camberley Theatre,) and also a special guest, a Christmas Elf who interpreted the switch on section into British Sign Language, to support our deaf community.
The countdown began, the volume increased and the button was pressed! Camberley’s brand new Christmas Lights went on in unison all the way down Park Street and looked beautiful! The fireworks started, lighting up the clear sky, whilst Fully FunKtional played a live set below on the stage, as it started snowing onto the crowd. The evening closed with a Freddie Mercury tribute keeping the large crowds entertained right until the end!
The Mayor of Surrey Heath, Cllr Sarah Jane Croke said; “What an amazing day had by all at the annual Camberley Christmas Light Switch On…the Collectively Camberley team did it again! It was another incredible event enjoyed by so many of our local community. I must give a BIG shout out to all that performed on the stage, to our fabulous Christmas Market traders and to the entire team behind the day…you all rock. It was an honour and a privilege to play my part, helping to switch on the lights with Father Christmas himself! I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.”
As part of the town centre’s new Christmas light scheme, an impressively large and sparkly Christmas bauble chair was introduced to the town. Visitors enjoyed capturing photos and selfies on the festive seat and many have shared them on the @LoveCamberley social media channels. The bauble chair will remain in place on Princess Way for the duration of December.
Jodie MacAndrew, Collectively Camberley Manager said; “The Collectively Camberley Light Switch On is the last large-scale event for us this year, following our successful and popular summer events programme. As our 2020 events were not able to go ahead, we wanted to bring people back into Camberley to enjoyed bigger and better experiences and support our business as much as possible, which we are proud to say we have done. We have received an overwhelming sense of positivity from event goers and town centre businesses, with many of our retail and night-time economy businesses telling us that they achieved record breaking sales on the Light Switch On event. To hear this is the icing on the Christmas cake!”
“With many of our local town centre neighbours not hosting a switch on event, Camberley was able to reach visitors from further afield and bring them into the town centre. We estimate that footfall on the day reached near to 50,000 for the day, on par with 2019, and at the moment of the light switch on, Park Street was the busiest to date. The idea of these events is to showcase our town centre and encourage repeat and regular visits.”
“A wide range of town centre businesses hosted their own in store celebrations or got involved with the event in some way which is great to see, we thank all businesses for their commitment and efforts. We also would like to thank our volunteers, partners and all sponsors for their support on the day.”
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our visitors for shopping local and to keep on supporting our town centre during the festive season and beyond. Have a safe and merry Christmas!”
For further information, plus news on what else is happening in Camberley Town Centre – plus the 2022 Events Calendar coming soon – please visit lovecamberley.co.uk and follow @LoveCamberley on social media.
For information on the Love Camberley Gift Card, please visit lovecamberley.co.uk.