THE COUNTDOWN to Christmas will get underway on Saturday, December 1, thanks to the annual Wokingham Living Advent Calendar.
Every day between December 1 and Christmas Eve there will be a different, surprise, act at a town centre venue.
The now annual initiative takes place at 6pm on weekdays and 4pm on Saturdays. In previous years there have been singers, youth groups, magicians, duos and carol singers all performing.
Acts are kept secret until the day, although the venues are published in advance.
And there are also some ‘fixed points’ in the calendar: on Monday, December 3, some of the borough’s schools will be coming forward to present the town mayor with decorations they have made at a special ceremony in Market Place.
A live nativity, featuring a local cast performing to a script created by Roughsketch Theatre Group specially for Wokingham, will take place on Sunday, December 16. Events for this start at 3pm, with Market Place turned into an entertainment area with live animals, before a donkey-led procession to Howard Palmer Gardens at 3.50pm, leading to the performance at 4pm.
Entry to each of the events is free, but donations will be welcomed towards 12 local charities: they have all been allocated two days to collect.
For more details, log on to www.wokinghamadvent.org.uk
All the venues
Weekdays 6pm, weekends 4pm
Saturday, December 1
Wokingham Town Hall
Charity: Thames Hospice
Sunday, December 2
The Hope and Anchor, Station Road
Charity: Thames Hospice
Monday, December 3
Market Place
Town Mayor’s Charities: Wokingham Foodbank and The Link Visiting Scheme
Tuesday, December 4
The Gig House, The Plaza, off Denmark Street
Charity: Me2 Club
Wednesday, December 5
Broad Street Tavern, Broad Street
Charity: Me2 Club
Thursday, December 6
The Raglan, Denmark Street
Charity: Deaf Positives Action
Friday, December 7
Sanpa, Denmark Street
Charity: Deaf Positives Action
Saturday, December 8
TG Art Gallery, Peach Street
Charity: Wokingham Poppy Appeal
Sunday, December 9
The Tamarind Tree, Peach Street
Charity: Wokingham Poppy Appeal
Monday, December 10
The Redan, Peach Street
Charity: Ollie Young Foundation
Tuesday, December 11
Zizzi, Peach Street
Charity: Ollie Young Foundation
Wednesday, December 12
Victoria Arms, Easthampstead Road
Charity: Home Start Wokingham
Thursday, December 13
The Three Frogs, London Road
Charity: Home Start Wokingham
Friday, December 14
The Dog and Duck, Matthewsgreen Road
Charity: WADE
Saturday, December 15
Martin & Co, Peach Street
Charity: WADE
Sunday, December 16
Live Nativity: Market Place from 3pm, Howard Palmer Gardens from 4pm
Charity: Wokingham Foodbank
Monday, December 17
Wokingham Library, Denmark Street
Charity: The Salvation Army
Tuesday, December 18
Brown Bag, Erftstadt Court, Denmark Street
Charity: The Salvation Army
Wednesday, December 19
The Duke’s Head, Denmark Street
Charity: Wokingham Volunteer Centre
Thursday, December 20
Bar 56, Peach Street
Charity: Wokingham Volunteer Centre
Friday, December 21
The Red Lion, Market Place
Charity: First Days
Saturday, December 22
The Queen’s Head, The Terrace
Charity: First Days
Sunday, December 23
Bush Walk Shops, off Peach Street
Charity: Barnados
Monday, December 24 — Christmas Eve
The Ship Inn, Peach Street
Charity: Barnados
