Are you ready for the 2019 Sutton New Town Christmas Tree Festival?

The third annual Christmas Tree Festival will run from Friday 29th November 2019 to Sunday 29th December 2019 and opens at St Barnabas Church, St Barnabas Road, SM1 4NP.   This email explains when the trees need to be set up, the times of the opening Gala and the arrangements for the market.  It will explain the viewing times for the trees and when the trees need to be ‘torn down’

Christmas Tree Set-Up

You’ll need to either make or bring your own artificial trees and the lights must be plug-in LED.   The trees should be between 4 foot and 6 foot tall.  You can go wild with your imagination and decorate it with the theme you want to promote.

Can you confirm whether you will be decorating a window sill?

The ‘build’ is when the trees are installed and decorated by each group.  This will take place between Monday 25th November  – Thursday 28th November up to Friday 29th November. The church will be open from 10:30 am to 4 pm.

We expect that the last trees will appear on Friday morning!

Some groups can only decorate in the evening so we are used to working around their needs – email [email protected] if you need to do the build in the evening.

Note:  The church will also be open on Tuesday evening 6:30 to 8:30 pm.

We have groups using the tree-decorating as one of their meetings or as an activity for their service users.  There will be Christmas music playing while the church is open and it really does create a very good atmosphere.

The Opening Gala

Below is the programme for the Opening Gala with Christmas Tree Market on 29th November 2019.

• 4:30 pm.  This is the start of the setup time for the Christmas Tree market.  All vehicles will have to be off-site by 5:45 pm.
  • Note:  Each group that has requested a stall will be allocated a single table unless you have specifically asked for more.
• 6:00 pm The doors are opened.  Seasonal refreshments and treats will be available at the Christmas Market in the Halls and visitors are free to explore the trees.
• 6:45 pm Welcome to the festival.  We welcome the Deputy Mayor and all the visitors to the festival. We are especially pleased to be welcoming The Dream Festival Choir – a combined hearing and deaf Choir and the fantastic Sutton Harmony Singers.
• 6:55 pm The magic begins and the lights are switched on.
• 7:00 pm End of the formal program (return to music and refreshments)
• 9:00 pm We wish everyone a good night.