Littlehampton Town Council had to postpone its Christmas Lights Switch on event on 23 November due to Storm Bert. By making a call to push the event back to another date, the council was able to salvage many of the elements and give enough notice to businesses that were staying open late to make alternative staffing arrangements.

The actual switch on of the Christmas illuminations took place in a private event on Friday 22 November when the winner of the ‘Design the Mayor’s Christmas Card Competition’, Chloe Chapman, was joined by Littlehampton Mayor Councillor Sean Lee and Santa in the High Street. 

The council can now confirm that many of the elements of the Switch on event have moved to Saturday 7 December to coincide with Small Business Saturday. There will be a stage with live entertainment from Joel Peters, High Strung and Electric Feel as well as a Santa’s Grotto in the Arcade with support from the Littlehampton and District Lions Club and Kamsons Pharmacy. The High Street will have a variety of attractions including artisan and charity stalls, children’s rides and street food. The Old Crafters Corner in Clifton Road will host free lantern making workshops, a Lego Boat Building session with Littlehampton Museum and Christmas storytelling.
The event will run from 13:00 through to 18:00, a slight change to the Switch on event, with Santa staying in town until 17:00.

Speaking of the fantastic event, Chair of Community Resources Committee, Councillor Freddie Tandy, said: “It was unfortunate that the original event was affected by a storm but through making an early decision we were able to move many of the attractions to the 7 December – we hope you can make the new date and get into the festive spirit with us. I would like to express our gratitude to our contractors and residents who have been incredibly understanding.”

Visitors will be able to enjoy free parking in St Martins car park all day and use the disc parking scheme to benefit from 2 hours free parking in other Town Centre car parks.
Full event details can be found on the Visit Littlehampton website.