The magic of Christmas is coming to Reading as the town centre transforms into a twinkling winter wonderland for the official Christmas Lights Switch-On on Saturday 15 November.<\/p>\n
The display celebrates Reading\u2019s rich culture and heritage, bringing local stories to life through an incredible array of over 800,000 LED lights.<\/p>\n
The light installations are unique to Reading, drawing inspiration from the people, places and stories that make the town special. Each centrepiece tells a chapter of Reading\u2019s past and present \u2013 from the famous Huntley & Palmers biscuits to Reading Abbey, Banksy\u2019s Create Escape and the legendary Number 17 bus. Visitors will also spot tributes to the town\u2019s vibrant diversity and creativity, such as the \u2018A World in One Place\u2019 mural by graffiti artist Arron Lowe, the Central Club mural\u2019s Pharaoh, and the Bayeux Tapestry replica at Reading Museum.<\/p>\n
The festivities, organised by Reading Business Improvement District (BID) and funded by town centre businesses, will take place outside Marks & Spencer on Broad Street from 2pm. A full programme of live music performances will build up the festive cheer throughout the afternoon, including Reading Community Gospel Choir and up-and-coming local musicians, JULIETTE The Band.<\/p>\n
The switch-on event also marks the official opening of the Broad Street Christmas Market, which will run from 15 November until 2 January. The market will be stocked with festive delights including:<\/p>\n
\u2013 German Bratwurst & Christmas Carvery<\/p>\n
\u2013 Toasted Marshmallows, Waffles, Donuts & Giant Cookies<\/p>\n
\u2013 Fudge, Crepes & Pic\u2019n\u2019Mix Sweets<\/p>\n
\u2013 Cheese Stall & Roasted Chestnuts<\/p>\n
\u2013 Gl\u00fchwein & Non-Alcoholic Mulled Wine<\/p>\n
\u2013 Christmas Decorations, Stockings & Gifts<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Christmas Light Switch-On is one of the highlights of Reading\u2019s year. This year\u2019s display is truly special to us, celebrating everything that makes Reading unique, from our rich history to our vibrant, diverse community,\u201d said Alexa Volker, Reading BID Manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to the support of our town centre businesses, we\u2019re able to bring Reading together by creating something magical for residents and visitors alike.\u201d<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll find lots of ideas to make the most of the festive season in Reading. See their schedule, activities and more at: visit-reading.com\/christmas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The magic of Christmas is coming to Reading as the town centre transforms into a twinkling winter wonderland…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23063,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-23062","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}