Farsley Christmas lights and fireworks 2012

The month of December has many an important dates; the 1st, when you can open the first door of your advent calender, the 25th, when the presents are opened and the family comes round and the 26th when you start to think of ways to finish off that giant turkey. For the village of Farsley, Wednesday 5th was one of those important dates as it was the night the Christmas lights were turned on.

* photos by Simon Cliff

The event was held on Farsley town street, the road being closed for the occasion. The lights were switched on at 7.00 pm, by our very own Ronnie the Rhino, the Leeds Rhinos mascot, followed by a spectacular firework display. But before that there was lots to do.

Sat waiting for various members of my party who were going to attend the switch on with me, I looked out of the window to see if I could catch a glimpse of preparations for the event. I watched trickles of people all dressed in their winter warmers heading down to the town street, children excitedly dragging their parents along. Not long after, I heard the faint sound of bagpipes and drums drifting though the window. It was the bagpipe players who were to take part in the parade practicing outside the library.

Now my party had arrived and I was feeling festive after listening to the music, we headed down to the town street. By 6.10 the street was full of families, young couples and groups of older children all wandering around. A lot of businesses had agreed to stay open till 8.00 pm and were getting involved in the festive spirit with stalls of sweets and food, raffles and one even roasting a boar. There was a lot of support from local businesses for the Christmas lights event.

For The Lounge, a cafe located on town street, it was a big evening for more than one reason. It was also launching it's brand new soft play area for children. The cafe has become a real haven for families and mums who need somewhere to go with their children, the soft play area will no doubt be well received. People were free to go in and order food and hot drinks, with glitter tattoos and face painting was also on offer.


At 6.15pm there was a parade down town street, Santa in his sleigh, bagpipers and children from the local infant and junior schools.

Having strolled up and down the town street, taking in the sights and sounds my hands started to feel the chill so I joined the queue for hot drinks. Feeling quite happy with my hot chocolate in hand, I was ready for the big switch on. It was hard sifting through the endless crowd of people, everyone had now gathered outside 'Dawson Wake' ready for the show.

There was two local radio station attendeding to provide music and to assist  Ronnie the Rhino with the countdown. As the clock approached 7 o'clock the countdown began 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,1 ....... The evening was rounded off with a spectacular firework show, the whole crowd cheering with excitement.

This was the first time I had attended the Christmas lights switch on in Farsley but I was thoroughly impressed in the size, effort and support of the local businesses and people. It was a lovely evening which certainly kick started the festive season.

* The fun doesn't end there though. For more information on Christmas events in Farsley through December visit the Farsley visit website (linked on this blog page).