With summer officially over, planning is well underway for Gorleston's new Christmas event which is set to “kick off” the festive season.

The Christmas light switch-on is a night enjoyed by families across Norfolk but this year Gorleston will be doing things a bit differently.

After the pandemic cancelled many celebrations last year, Kevin Huggins, who has organised the light switch-on for the past 15-years, said they were unsure if the country would be back to normal by Christmas 2021.

So instead of closing the high street, it was decided the town’s annual event would be held in the Priory Gardens, located in Priory Street.

Mr Huggins said: “This year we were in the middle of the pandemic and because the high street is open and knew we couldn't control numbers so we couldn’t hold the normal event.

“The next best idea was to hold this event in Priory Gardens because if we were restricted on numbers, we could control it.

%image(14422495, type="article-full", alt="This year Gorleston's annual Christmas event will be held in Priory Gardens, which will include a Christmas market. Pictured is a generic Christmas market.")

“The Priory Gardens is Gorleston's hidden gem. It’s a beautiful little park and not a lot of local people even know it's there."

Christmas in the Parks is a collaboration with the Great Yarmouth Business Improvement Development (BID) committee which is providing funding towards it and Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

%image(14422496, type="article-full", alt="Gorleston Christmas light switch on in previous years. This year the town's annual Christmas event will be held in Priory Gardens - Christmas In The Parks.")

It will be held on Friday November 26 to Sunday November 28 from 10am until 4pm.

It is also being held at St Georges Park in Great Yarmouth from November 26 to December 5, excluding November 29 and November 30.

Mr Huggins, who is also chairman of Gorleston Traders Association, added: “The garden will be lit with twinkling lights and we are hoping to fill the market will stalls from local business. It will have a Christmassy theme, including craft, food and drink. We will also have rides and attractions for children.

“It’s all about kicking off the Christmas festive season in Gorleston. On the Sunday we will have the usual Christmas light switch-on on the high street followed by fireworks.

%image(14422497, type="article-full", alt="Gorleston Christmas light switch on in previous years. This year the town's annual Christmas event will be held in Priory Gardens - Christmas In The Parks.")

“We may close the high street for a short amount of time while that takes place, but we are waiting to have that confirmed.”

If you are interested in applying for a stall you can request an application form from, events@great-yarmouth.gov.uk.

%image(14422498, type="article-full", alt=""Christmas In The Parks" will be held at Priory Gardens in Gorleston and St Georges Park in Great Yarmouth over the festive season.")