Christmas and community spirit will shine at Penrith CBD Corp’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting and festival this Friday, November 14.
From 5pm to 9pm, High Street will transform into a festive wonderland, with the tree lighting scheduled for 8pm – the same time Santa arrives!
“Our Community Tree Lighting is all about local businesses and the community coming together to celebrate Christmas six weeks beforehand and to shop and dine locally,” said Penrith CBD Corp CEO Gai Hawthorn.
“It’s fantastic for our community to come together and enjoy each other’s company, but also to support local businesses as well,” added Mayor Todd Carney.
“We know people have been doing it tough out there, so to be able to bring local residents into the town centre to spend money locally is an absolutely fantastic opportunity, but it’s also a great night.”
With a promising weather forecast, organisers hope to see a big turnout.
“It was a little bit down last year because of the rain, but in previous years, we’ve seen around 15,000 to 20,000 people,” the Mayor said.
“We’re hoping to get around 25,000 to 30,000 this year.”
With plenty of free events on offer, there’s no reason locals shouldn’t attend the festivities.
“This year, we have a special area for free Santa photos that was beautifully designed by Ivory Stone Collective and backed by Westpac and St George,” Hawthorn explained.
“More free activities include face painting, the gingerbread challenge, airbrush tattoos, crafts, spinning wheels, and putt-putt golf.
“Free activities at this economic time of the year is perfect for families.”
The pair of Penrith leaders are excited about the growth of the festival.
“It is about growth, but we love tradition. For us, it’s all about the new tradition of local businesses getting involved and giving back,” Hawthorn started.
“That is the key part. Local businesses get involved more and more throughout that process, and we’re seeing even more come on board this year which is fantastic. We’ll see more local businesses open in the afternoon as well to really activate the street,” Carney finalised.
Don’t forget to see the towering Christmas tree light up in Memory Park at 8pm this Friday in between enjoying the free activities and great food on offer!
