*Click the image above to see the 2023 Visit Otley Christmas film
After a super successful Christmas Lights Switch On last Monday evening at which Serious Sam Barrett played a version of Never Loved Christmas from this year’s Visit Otley Christmas video*, the Festive Season is now in full swing in Otley.
The town Christmas tree is up in Market Place, the ice-white Christmas lights are up and twinkling around the town, and the halls of the shops and businesses are decked with holly.
We love Christmas in Otley and we know you’ll love it too… so to get you in the festive mood, here’s a selection of events happening during December as part of the festivities.
Otley Snowman Trail begins tomorrow
Take a walk around Otley and discover the snowmen and women strategically placed in businesses and homes. There’ll be prizes for the best business windows, as well as for those who participate in the trail and guess the answer to the clues on a provided map.
Friday December 1st – Sunday December 17th
Otley’s magical Victorian Fayre
The town’s annual Christmas event in the style of Charles Dickens will take place this year on Sunday December 3rd from noon to 6pm. Expect stalls, shops, Christmas carols and many people dressed in period costume throughout the town.
Sunday December 3rd
Extended shopping on two Sundays this month
Otley’s reputation as a fabulous place to shop thanks to our many independent businesses will once again be cemented with two extra Super Sunday shopping days. Whether you’re shopping for the Christmas table or for gifts to fill those stockings, Otley’s businesses are offering two extra opportunities to pick up goodies ahead of the Big Day thanks to two Super Sunday Openings. These will be held on Victorian Fayre day (December 3rd) and the final farmers’ market of the year (December 17th).
Sunday December 3rd and 17th
The Otley Christmas Tree Festival
Another Otley Christmas stalwart will return to the Parish Church from noon on Wednesday December 6th with the Otley Christmas Tree Festival. Held daily until Saturday December 9th, local charities and organisations will be encouraged to dress Christmas trees to raise money for good causes. There’ll be musical performances throughout.
Magical music of the season
There’s more music throughout the month in Otley. Tapas N Tunes has a number of Christmas nostalgia nights through December, while five leading lights of the British roots scene A Winter Union join forces to create a festive folk band like no other at the Courthouse on Friday December 1st. Later in the month, the Ale Marys (above) will be hosting their annual Christmas Party at Woolpack Studios on Sunday December 17th with support from The Velveteens and the intriguingly named Wild Mary’s Natives!
On screen and on stage
Both the Courthouse and Tapas N Tunes are showing festive favourite films this month. White Christmas will be on screen at TNT on December 2nd and 16th, while Simon Callow’s Christmas Carol is at the Courthouse on December 20th, followed by a screening of Elf three days later.
For live action, look no further than the Otley Players who will be offering three performances of Charles Dickens The Chimes over the weekend of December 9th and 10th. The children aren’t left out either with The Lightbulb Princess (above) firing up their imaginations on December 17th, also at the Courthouse.
Win BIG in Otley this Christmas
Someone is going to get one of the best presents of their lives this Christmas in our Christmas Cracker competition. We’ve teamed up with some of the town’s best independents to bring a shopping trolly of goodies worth £400 to one lucky winner. It will include a huge turkey, succulent rib of beef, pork pies, all the veg you need, Christmas treats and much more.
To win all you have to do is click here and enter. And if you want more chance of winning, you can bag more entries by sharing the competition with your friends and on social. The more you share, the more chances you get to win!
The competition ends on December 15th with the winner being drawn that same day.
PLEASE NOTE:
The winner must be able to pick up their prize in person in Otley on Dec 23rd.