York Christmas Festival to run for 37 days

York Christmas Festival and York St Nicholas Fair will run for 37 days, from 17th November until 23rd December, with highlights set to include a new living Advent calendar.

This year’s festive events will also see the return of the Ice Trail and a Scandinavian Tipi, and there will be over 100 stallholders at the St Nicholas Fair.

Thor’s Scandinavian Tipi, available to visit between 17th November and 2nd January, will offer a festive experience where visitors can sit on cosy furs around a fire, all in a giant tipi.

The tipi will be serving an outdoor winter BBQ, homemade sweet treats, hot chocolate, mulled wine, draft ales and Christmas cocktails.

And groups walking the Ice Trail can see 30 specially commissioned hand-carved ice sculptures throughout the centre of York. Visitors can watch live ice carving throughout the Ice Trail weekend, too.

More Christmas highlights in York

The living Advent calendar is a new feature for York this Christmas. 25 centre-based businesses with large windows will each show a large number alongside a Christmas-themed window display, and one will be revealed each day in the run up to Christmas day.

Five new themed weekends have also been announced for the winter season. These will include a brass bands weekend on 19th and 20th November; a choir’s weekend on 26th and 27th November; and a family weekend on 3rd and 4th December.

The additional themed weekends are the Ice Trail weekend on 10th and 11th December and a Shambles Market Christmas Party celebration weekend on 17th and 18th December.

For a more traditional Christmas celebration, groups can enjoy candle-lit carol services in York Minster and in York’s smaller churches.

York’s theatres will boast Christmas entertainment and pantomimes such as Cinderella, which will run at York Theatre Royal from 8th December to 28th January.

For further information visit www.visityork.org/Christmas.