Old Town’s Victorian event is given a modern facelift

Community Action Dacorum are again organising the annual Christmas lights switch-on in the Old Town, due to take place on Saturday, November 15 from 4pm to 7pm.

This will be the 16th year of the event, which until now has been known as the Victorian Evening as it began in 1998 by marking 100 years since Queen Victoria granted the charter to the town.

For the first time, old Queen Vic won’t be the event’s guest of honour, but the Christmas countdown celebration will still feature charity and food stalls, children’s fairground rides and a variety of choirs and music groups singing alongside the giant festive tree in St Mary’s Close car park.

The event follows on from the success of last month’s Old Town Halloween party, and Community Action Dacorum’s development officer Loretta Anderson said: “This event really is the start of the Christmas season in the borough and raises funds for Rennie Grove and many other local charities.

“The newly-refurbished High Street will be a lovely setting for it, with the choirs, carols, candles and even the church bells ringing as the lights come on.

“The setting is completely different to the new town switch-on, which will be in keeping with that area of the town and I think people would enjoy the old and new town ways of starting the Christmas lead up.”

The mayor of Dacorum Allan Lawson and town MP Mike Penning will be pressing the big button for the lights.

Later in the month, on Sunday, November 30, the Marlowes Christmas event will take place from 4.30pm with fireworks and the light switch-on at 5.30pm – though details and the switch-on star have not yet been revealed.