Get into the festive spirit as Cantley Park’s first Christmas Market, brought to you by Wokingham Borough Council, is set to light up the event field this winter.
The Christmas Market is free to attend and will take place in person from Wednesday 24 November until Friday 24 December 2021. There will be outdoor market huts selling delicious food and festive drinks, plus a variety of gifts and experiences, offering borough residents the perfect opportunity to shop for seasonal presents, whilst supporting local businesses.
We would like local businesses to apply to run a stall, and for local residents to support small local businesses. Executive member for environment and leisure Cllr Parry Batth said: “As we approach the autumnal months, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. The past eighteen months have shown us the importance of shopping locally, and what better way to support growth in our local economy and help build business than by attending Cantley Park’s Christmas Market.
“Whether you are a baker, jewellery maker or Christmas gift designer, we want to see as many vendors as possible selling local gifts and produce at the Christmas Market. We are anticipating that there will be plenty of interest in exhibiting at the event, particularly helped by the increased visitors from the ice-skating rink, and I am encouraging vendors to book their market huts as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.”
Last year’s Christmas Market took place virtually and was a huge success for both exhibitors and residents. This year’s market is expected to be twice as popular with the additional footfall from Cantley Park’s recently opened café, 3G sports pitch and Wokingham’s first ice skating rink, which will be situated within the event field throughout the duration of the Christmas Market.
So, residents get your skates on as the skating rink is debuting this November at Cantley Park! The ice-skating at the event field will open on 12 November 2021 until 7 January 2022, every day (excluding bank holidays) from 12 pm to 8 pm. The ice-skating rink is a ticketed event. An adult ticket costs £12, a child ticket costs £7.50 and a family of four ticket costs £30 (for families of four or more, it will be £5 per extra child).
Each ticket allows entry onto the ice-skating rink for one hour. Due to the popularity of this event, advanced booking is advised. Tickets can be purchased via the Wokingham Borough Council Eventbrite: Wokingham Winter Ice Rink – November 2021 Tickets, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite.
There will be some tickets available on the day, subject to availability. Tickets purchased through the Eventbrite website until 1st November will receive an early bird 10% discount.
A series of creative workshops will be running at the Cantley Park Café in the Ashridge Room during the festive season. There are opportunities to make your own wreath to decorate your home in our Christmas Wreath Making workshop and make your own personalised festive wrapping paper, cards, and gift tags in our Christmas Printmaking workshop.
You can also make personalised homewares and decorations such as hanging baubles, snowflakes and stars in our Christmas Crochet workshop led by Gaynor White. During the November lead up to Christmas, we will be running a Jewellery making workshop with artist Janet Richardson which might be the perfect way to make your loved ones a thoughtful gift before the Christmas rush.
To book the Christmas Printmaking Workshop: shorturl.at/pCOP9
To book the Christmas Wreathmaking Workshop: shorturl.at/ityLQ
To book the Christmas Crochet Workshop: shorturl.at/guyVW
To book the Earrings Workshop: shorturl.at/fmGVZ
To book the Ring Making Workshop: shorturl.at/jwzGY
For the full programme, visit the Wokingham Borough Council Eventbrite page or the WOCCA app. To access the WOCCA app, it is available to download on Apple and Android devices via the play store by searching ‘Wocca’. For any further questions or more information, please contact the Arts and Culture team at: artsandculture@wokingham.gov.uk
