Wednesday 1st December 2010 to Sunday 5th December 2010

Christmas comes but once a year when the Christmas lights are switched on, the Christmas tree is dressed and the Great Yarmouth Christmas Fayre swings into town with crafts, gifts, specialist foods and local produce for a full five days of festive fare.

Opening this year with the official switching-on of the towns Festive lighting, the Great Yarmouth Christmas Fayre will open until 8pm on Wednesday 1st December and then daily until Sunday 5th December when contemporary and traditional crafts, gift and food stalls along with free festive entertainment can be found in the beautiful St. Nicholas church, the Noble Hall in the historic Priory Centre and in heated Town Centre marquees on the Market Place from 10am to 5pm.

The St. Nicholas Church, the largest parish church in England, plays host to a wide variety of hand craft and gift stalls, including a the number of Norwegian crafters from the Trondheim area of Norway as bringing with them traditional hand crafts and gifts.

The former Benedictine Priory next door to St. Nicholas Church will again be the venue for the Christmas Fayre Food Hall where a wide selection of specialist foodstuffs will be found.

On the Market Place will be the Christmas Fayre Marquees in which a variety of specialist gifts and festive goodies will be on sale from a wide collection of stalls. Outside the Marquees Great Yarmouth’s famous market stalls will be open with the festive flavour carrying through to the travelling fun fair that will be open all weekend into the evenings.

Each day, a variety of free festive entertainment will take place with performances from choirs, dance groups, musicians and Punch and Judy shows, will take place in St. Nicholas Church.

Lardal Kantori

On the evening of Saturday 4th December, Norwegian Choir, Lardal Kantori, will be performing a feast of Norwegian carols at St.Nicholas Church. Travelling from their home in south-east Norway the 40 strong mixed choir are performing exclusively in Great Yarmouth to launch this years Great Yarmouth Christmas Fayre. This will be the Kantori’s 7th consecutive visit to the town, a trip they are looking forward to as much as the many friends they have made during their previous stays are. Conductor Kjell Håkestad said, “We have really enjoyed our previous two trips to Great Yarmouth and the wonderful acoustics of St. Nicholas Church makes singing there a fantastic experience”. Which is praise indeed from a man who can list among his previous conducting venues, Saint Peters Basilica in Rome. The Kantori will perform a mixture of traditional Norwegian and English worded Carols.

You will find the Christmas Fayre in the centre of historical Great Yarmouth; if you visit the town by train this is just a short walk from Vauxhall rail station, all bus services stop at the town centre about 30 seconds from the Fayre. By car you will find a variety of car parks in or close to the town centre.

Throughout the five days of the fayre you will find a range of entertainment, this happens mainly in the church, on the week days we like to involve children from the area so local schools arrange half hourly performances supported by professional and semi-professional acts at other times.

The Priory Centre is situated next to ST. Nicholas Church and provides an excellent food hall with an extensive range of hot and cold food and drinks; it is also the place for specialist traders to showcase their range of goods.

On the market place you will find marquees full of traders with a display of crafts and traditional fare from a Christmas hat to a jar of pickles, there are covered market stalls and an open market area selling well just about anything you can imagine, at the end of the market place is the Christmas funfair with rides for all ages.

 

Below are just some of the traders that will be at the 2010 Great Yarmouth Christmas Fayre.

Below are just some of the shops from the Market Gates Shopping Centre and the Market Place.

Visit the Market Gates Shopping Centre Web Site