Wonka-themed fun kicks off town centre’s Christmas celebrations

Shoppers in Northampton kickstarted the Christmas celebrations with a Golden Ticket to a day packed full of family festive fun when Willy Wonka came to town.

The event saw the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory star team up with his army of oompa-loompas, face-painters, hula-hoopers and face-painters to officially launch the town centre’s Christmas campaign in Grosvenor Shopping Northampton.

Organised by Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), the event brought hundreds of families into the town centre to get the festive celebrations off to a flying start.

Mark Mullen, operations manager at Northampton Town Centre BID, said: “The story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory resonates with so many and we were delighted to be able to bring a series of Wonka-themed entertainment to the town centre to launch our festive activities.

“It was a really enjoyable day and we are delighted to have been able to work with colleagues at Grosvenor Shopping Northampton to deliver a programme of activities to keep everyone entertained. Lots of businesses got involved and there was a real buzz across the town centre throughout the day.”

The Family Fun Day saw the launch of the BID’s Golden Ticket competition, with families urged to enter and ‘Win your Christmas’.

Four lucky winners will each win £500 of vouchers as part of the £2,000 prize fund, simply by hand-posting an entry ticket into one of 10 special post boxes found in shops and businesses in the town centre over the next month.

Tickets are available from retailers around the town and can also be downloaded from the BID’s website.

For more information visit www.discovernorthampton.co.uk