Moffat will step into Christmas on Sunday (November 24) with a feast of fun and lights.
From noon to 5pm, the Dumfriesshire town’s shops will be open throughout and there will be an outdoor market with more than 40 stalls, a licensed area and food and drink, fairground rides, music, face painting, and a grand raffle with prizes.
Among the stalls at the Christmas festival will be one manned by the Moffat Macmillan Cancer Support volunteers who will have a lot of festive to sell and a raffle for which prizes include a wood carving by Peter Bowsher and hampers.
Children’s fancy dress and best dressed pet competitions will take place on the High Street stage at 1pm, followed by a parade led by Ryan-the-Piper, elves and Rudolph to the Upper Annandale Parish Church in time to see Santa abseil into town down its steeple at 1.35pm – with a helping hand from Moffat Mountain Rescue Team.
Santa will go walkabout the town greeting residents and visitors.
There will be a snow globe at the Moffat House Hotel and mulled wine at Moffat Museum, with special guests and local talent performing on the High Street stage during the day including gymnastics from Moffat Gym, Zumba, and carols from the choir Daffy Dill and clowns, Double Trouble.
The winner of the fancy dress competition will help Santa switch on the town’s Christmas lights at 5pm.
In addition, Jonathan Cosens Photography has generously offered a studio portrait of the winners of both competitions.
There is also a shops’ decorated window competition.
The town’s main Christmas tree outside the town hall has been kindly donated by Annandale Estates. Tags for the Memory Baubles are still available at 17 Reasons with a suggested donation of £2, with funds donated to Bankfoot Care Home.
There will be free parking on the old Mercury Hotel site and the old gas works.