The annual Festival of Christmas Trees will take place in All Saints’ Parish Church, Bakewell, between 7 and 17 December 2023. This will be the fifteenth such celebration. The church will be full of Christmas trees, mostly “real”, but some artificial or created, but all lovingly decorated in such a way as to celebrate different aspects of our Bakewell community. Businesses, charities, schools, churches, local communities and organisations will be represented.
The festival will be opened during a short service at 7pm on Thursday, 7th December. The service will be followed by wine and nibbles. It will then be open daily from 9.30am to 4pm ( excepting Thursday, when mulled wine and mince pies will be served until 7pm following St Anselms’ carol service). Sunday opening hours will be 12 noon to 4pm. The festival will close with a community carol service at 6pm on Sunday, 17 December.
Delicious home made refreshments will be served daily from 10am to 3.30pm (Sunday 12.30 to 3.30pm)
Entry to the festival is free, with any donations going towards the regular cost of maintaining the church.
Music will again feature as part of the festival: at about 11am on Friday, 8 December the All Saints’ choir will have sing-a-long around the piano and at 11.15am on Saturday, 9 December, Bel Canto, the very popular ladies’ choir will perform a coffee concert, the last of the year.
At 7.30pm on Wednesday 13 December, Bakewell and district community choir will perform a selection of seasonal music. Tickets are £10, students and accompanied children free, and are available from the Little Vagabond bookshop (formerly Maxwells), from members of the choir or on the door. During the late night opening on Thursday, 14 December, local pianist, Sue Clark will entertain with light classical music.
The tree festival is a joyous beginning to Christmas. It has become a Bakewell tradition and is not to be missed!