Chester Zoo’s Christmas trail is back for 2023 and this year the return of the festive light show and long-running seasonal experience promises to be truly bigger and better than ever, with groundbreaking new displays, light shows, immersive soundscapes and much more.
‘Lanterns and Light‘, or previous incarnations of the annual Christmas event, has been running at Chester Zoo for over a decade now, with the family-friendly entertainment delivering a bigger and more enchanting spectacle year in, year out.
So, given the success of last year’s celebrations, the legendary local zoo had quite the job on their hands topping themselves, but with talk of not only a huge light show with more colourful illuminated animal lanterns than ever but plenty of exciting new additions, we think they just might have done it.
The beloved wintertime event will see visitors embark on the incredible light trail around the 128-acre premises this November right up until the end of the year and it really is promising to be the most special year to date.
Credit: Chester Zoo
As alluded to above, in addition to hundreds of colourful illuminated animal lanterns, guests will also be greeted by a whole host of costumed characters including the main man himself: Father Christmas, jolly old Saint Nick, Santa — whatever merry moniker floats your boat.
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Other sparkly new features include an ultraviolet walkway with luminous animal faces and colour-changing rainforests; illuminated dolphins that appear to leap from moats and waterways, a huge fire garden, as well as a variety of fairground rides and Christmas market stalls.
However, undoubtedly the best of this year’s offerings are the brand-new soundscapes designed in collaboration with Sony Music as part of the groundbreaking festive installations, which include a giant, four-metre-tall, interactive 3D woolly mammoth hologram. Yes, seriously.
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The incredible lights and effects will be taking centre stage at the zoo on multiple occasions each day and is a world-first that will light up the Cheshire sky like never before.
This dazzling display has previously received widespread public acclaim over the years, especially since the funds raised from ticket sales support the zoo’s conservation missions and work to help nature survive and thrive around the world.
Tickets for Lanterns and Light are on sale now with the festive experience scheduled to run across 33 special evenings from Friday, 17 November all the way up until New Year’s Eve (Sunday, 31 December) and entry slots from 4pm–8pm every evening.
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And, most importantly of all, as Chester Zoo remains a vital non-profit in the North West and in the global wildlife community, all the money raised through the event goes right back into their crucial charity work.
You can find out more information and book your tickets HERE.
Ashton town centre is hosting one of Greater Manchester’s ‘wildest’ street parties this summer
Emily Sergeant
One of the ‘wildest’ street parties is arriving in a popular Greater Manchester town centre this summer.
From giant Star Wars machines to a full-scale wrestling ring, life-sized dinosaurs roaming around, and everything in between, a bold new community celebration hits Market Avenue in Ashton-under-Lyne early next month… and as you can tell, there’ll be something for visitors of all ages to get involved with on the day.
This is Street Life – a brand new one-day community festival taking over the Tameside town.
Free to attend and open to all ages, event organisers are promising that it’ll be an ‘explosion’ of creativity, culture, and big day-out energy, all to celebrate the very best of what Ashton has to offer.
It may sound like something out of a Comic Con, but it’s all happening in Greater Manchester, and at the centre of the spectacle is a rare appearance from a towering eight-metre Scout Walker, which is a jaw-dropping mechanical build direct from the Star Wars universe.
The build was previously exclusive to private exhibitions, but this is the first time it will be appearing at a community event free for all to see.
That’s only the beginning of all the action happening though, as some of the other things visitors can look forward to include a pop-up cinema screening family classics, a performance from Britain’s Got Talent finalist dance troupe of disco stormtroopers, Boogie Storm, live music and DJ sets from a wide range of genres, and so much more.
There’ll be free face painting, festive hair braiding, and temporary glitter tattoos for kids, as well as local businesses showcasing on market stalls, and loads of pop-up street food by local vendors.
“We want to give Ashton something to be proud of,” says the Street Life team.
“This is about creating joy, spotlighting local talent, and reminding people how fun and vibrant a town centre can be. There’s truly something for everyone.
“Following the huge success of a last-minute VE Day street party last month, which brought the community together in the most brilliant, unexpected way, we saw the opportunity to scale it up, dream bigger, and create something beyond anyone’s wildest expectations.”
Street Life will be taking over Market Avenue in Ashton on Saturday 5 July from 10am until late, and it’s free entry for all.
Featured Image – Supplied
What's On
Huge street food festival to take over Rochdale Town Hall Square this month
Thomas Melia
Rochdale Town Hall Square will be packed with foodies galore later this month as it marks the return of its popular food festival.
Street Eat is one of the biggest days of the year in the Rochdale calendar, organised by the Rochdale Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), welcoming food and drinks stalls from local vendors and restaurants.
A whole host of free activities will be happening throughout the day including live Punch and Judy shows, face painting and even a caricaturist sketching portraits too.
At the food festival, there will be a live music stage with a line-up featuring tribute act fABBAlous, country rockers Between The Vines, pop soloist Saskia Starkie, a pop and rock choir from Rochdale Music Service and more.
Soak up the sun while tucking into some foodie delights.There’s plenty of kids activities taking place at Street Eat in Rochdale.
Street Eat is part of a spectacular line up of festivals, live performances, exhibitions and art during Rochdale’s year as Greater Manchester Town of Culture 2025–26.
The title, awarded by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority celebrates the town’s rich history, creativity, talent and diverse arts scene.
This year, Street Eat is trekking across the globe once more for its flavours with Greek, Indian, Italian, German, American and English cuisines making up the menu for the day.
Tried and tested The Manc favourites are taking part too, with hearty food offerings from The Baum and equally delicious pizzas by Vicolo Del Vino – both of which can be found in our Rochdale guide.
Two much-loved local eateries, home-kitchen-turned-popular-takeaway, Chino’s Kitchen and Indian street food pop-up, Bombay Brew are joining forces for the day as Punjabi Food Corner, yes please.
If you’ve got more of a sweet tooth, there’s Brew Box who’ll be serving up waffles, Cake Loves Cakes, as well as a whole host of dessert stalls, if you don’t get a sugar rush you’ve done it wrong.
There’s a variety of food options at Street Eat in Rochdale.Sip and Sparkle are bringing their array of drinks to this food festival.
Organiser and Business Improvement District (BID) manager, Paul Ambrose said: “Street Eat showcases the vibrant food and drink the town has to offer as well as being a really fun day to share with friends and family.“
“Whether you’re wanting to try something new or just want your favourite food to accompany an ice-cold drink while listening to some live music, Street Eat has you covered.
“It’s going to be another great day in the fabulous setting of the new Rochdale Town Hall Square.”
Street Eat is taking place at Rochdale Town Hall Square on Saturday 28 June from 11am to 7pm and admission is completely free – for more information visit HERE.
Danny Jones -
31st October 2023 
