Festive fun in new shopping area.
People living in Longbridge and the surrounding areas are being invited to celebrate Christmas People in style when a local Christmas Craft Fair comes to Longbridge town centre this Friday and Saturday, 13th-14th December.
Highlighting its commitment to supporting the local community, St. Modwen is hosting the craft fair between 4pm and 8pm on Friday 13th and 10am and 4pm on Saturday 14th December. The fair is the first community event to be held at the new town centre and has been organised by Councillor Andy Cartwright, in partnership with new and local businesses in the area.
During the event, visitors will be able to buy the perfect gift from the local crafters’ market, including one-off creations from Looby Lou’s handmade crafts, unique jewellery from Jewellery Creations by Maz – and for those with an extra sweet tooth, Sweet Sister Trees will be on hand, with trees made entirely out of chocolate! Giving children an opportunity to present their Christmas lists in person, Santa’s Grotto will also be open at the fair and children will be able to have a professional photo taken with Santa, which they can collect the following day to keep as a memento.
Cllr Andy Cartwright said: “We’re delighted to have been able to put the Christmas Craft Market on this year, in celebration of our first Christmas at the new Longbridge town centre. Having lived in Longbridge for many years, it’s incredibly exciting to watch the new town centre coming together as more and more shops open their doors and a thriving community develops in the area.
“Working closely with St. Modwen and the Longbridge community, we’ve been able to organise an event which really represents the local people – be that small and new businesses in the crafters’ market, or the Christmas singing and dance performances from local schools and community groups – there really is something for everyone to enjoy.”
As part of the event, a raffle will be taking place in aid of South Birmingham Young Homeless Project with a number of exciting raffle prizes donated from local retailers, including a luxury hamper worth £100 from Sainsbury’s, a brand new MG car for the weekend, plus two family meals from both Beefeater and Hungry Horse.
The winners of St. Modwen’s community art competition, ‘What Longbridge Means to Me’, will also be revealed at the Christmas Craft Fair. The winning and highly commended designs will be displayed for all to see in one of the retail units in the town centre, and the four winning designs have been printed onto bags for life, which visitors will be able to take away on the day.
Andrea Bolton, property manager at St. Modwen said: “The Christmas Craft Fair is the first event of its type that we have held at Longbridge since the town centre opened in October this year, and we’re really excited to celebrate the festive season with the local community.
“With Christmas well and truly on its way, the fair is a perfect opportunity for people to support local businesses and get those last minute Christmas presents off their mind at the same time. We’ll also have a Santa’s Grotto over both days, giving young families the perfect chance to tell Father Christmas exactly what they’d like this year!”
The Christmas Craft Fair at Longbridge will be taking place on the new high street, which represents the first phase of the wider Longbridge regeneration scheme. Just last week, it was announced that a flagship 150,00 sq ft Marks & Spencer store will anchor the second phase of the town centre project, creating up to 350 jobs. Subject to planning, works will start on site in mid-2014 with the new Marks & Spencer anticipated to open for trading by Christmas 2015.
For more information on Longbridge town centre, people are advised to visit the Longbridge Life website at www.longbridgebirmingham.co.uk/life. Alternatively, people can contact the Longbridge Helpdesk on 0121 222 5554 or by emailing longbridgehelpdesk@stmodwen.co.uk.