The festive season is fast approaching so Bray Chamber, Bray.ie and Bray Municipal District have launched their Christmas marketing campaign for 2022. The campaign is designed to encourage the Bray community to shop, buy, hire and source locally first and for everyone to enjoy the array of seasonal events and activities returning this December.
Sarah Finnegan, Bray & District Chamber of Commerce President said, “It’s great to see all the community family-friendly events and activities returning in style this festive season. There’s no better time than Christmas to focus on what our amazing town has to offer so make the most wonderful time of the year locally by joining in the celebrations as we kick off the yuletide festivities later this month.”
Feel the magic of Christmas come to life on Saturday, November 26th from 4:30 pm in the Civic Plaza as the Town Centre Christmas lights are officially switched on. There will be a live sing-along with MC Adam Burke, while local girl and Irish International footballer Áine O’Gorman and Bray Wanderers FC’s mascot ‘Rocky the seagull’ will help the guest of honour, Father Christmas, in officially switching on the town’s Christmas lights.
Cllr Erika Doyle, Cathaoirleach of Bray Municipal District said, “Bray’s Christmas lights switch-on is the perfect reason to gather your family, wrap up warm and snuggle together in the civic plaza as we officially start Christmas. Remember for all your shopping needs, places to eat, drink, and be merry and with free car parking in the Herbert Road Car Park (Council owned portion) each weekend commencing 26th November up to and including 31st December, it makes perfect sense for everyone to shop local first this year.”
The return of the Christmas lights switch-on event is expected to be a busy one with hundreds of people flocking to the plaza to enjoy the event. If you’re planning on being there too, why not come to Bray a little earlier, grab something to eat, enjoy a spot of Christmas shopping and then pick your spot in the plaza ready for the festivities to start?
“As the energy crisis continues this year, all festive lights will be powered by energy-efficient LEDs, which consume 75% less electricity than regular bulbs and to further conserve energy the lights will be turned off earlier than normal”, added Sarah.
With just six weeks until Christmas, we have a fabulous Christmas Photo Competition where someone could win a spectacular prize. Just capture a special Christmas moment in Bray and be sure to use the #ChristmasInBray hashtag when sharing your favourite memories on social media and you’ll be in with a chance to win our competition! You can also submit your photos at http://www.bray.ie/christmasinbray/.
Not only will Bray sparkle and twinkle this Christmas the town is packed full of incredible experiences that you can’t get anywhere else… from watching ‘Christmas movies at Mermaid’, visiting ‘Santa at Festina Lente’, exploring the ‘Killruddery Christmas Markets’ to catching ‘Candlelight Concerts’. You can pick up a gift at Bray Town Centre or simply eat, drink and be merry at one of Bray’s top bars, cafés, or restaurants.
Throughout the festive season, there’s an array of seasonal events and activities to keep all the family entertained. They include:
- Christmas Projections on the Town Hall and Civic offices
- Santa’s Post Box – children wanting to send letters to Father Christmas can do so at the Bray Town Hall until Friday, December 16th
- #ChristmasInBray colouring and photography competitions
- Top 10 Christmas Gifts list available from local retailers
- #ChristmasInBray Spotify playlist
- Killruddery Christmas Market from Saturday, November 19th and will run every Saturday and Sunday in the lead-up to Christmas
- Killruddery Cut Flowers Christmas Wreath Making workshops takes place on Friday, November 25th, Sunday, November 27th and Sunday, December 11th
- Festive Christmas Concert in support of Bray homeless charity – BARSS on Thursday, December 1st
- St Andrew’s National School Christmas Fair on Saturday, December 3rd from 11 am to 3 pm
- Visit Santa & The Mini Ponies at Festina Lente from Thursday, December 3rd
- Killruddery Christmas Craft workshops for children take place throughout the festive period
- Purple House’s Christmas Candlelight Service on Sunday, December 4th at 7 pm in Christ Church and Lights of Life – Virtual Christmas Tree at https://lights.purplehouse.ie
- Christmas Movies at Mermaid kicks off on Saturday, December 3rd with screenings of The Muppet Christmas Carol and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and then It’s a Wonderful Life on December 19th
- WhistleBlast’s Winter Wonderland at Mermaid on Sunday, December 4th
- Signal Arts Centre Christmas Fair features local art and crafts from 10 am to 5 pm daily from Monday, December 5th to Saturday, December 24th
- Dublin Gospel Choir at Mermaid on Friday, December 9th
- Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny at Mermaid on Friday, December 16th
- Bray Choral Society presents ‘Carols by Candlelight‘ at Christchurch Bray on December 17th
- Phil Coulter at Mermaid on Saturday, December 17th
- Abba Forever at Mermaid on Sunday, December 18th
- Ballet Ireland’s Nutcracker Sweeties at Mermaid on December 22nd & 23rd
There’s plenty to keep you and your family busy between the Christmas events so why not make a break for Bray this festive season and explore things to see and do, eat and drink, places to stay and more by visiting the award-winning website: https://www.bray.ie.
Share your special Christmas messages, pictures or videos, they may feature on bray.ie’s social media feeds throughout the festive season. Get involved at http://www.bray.ie/christmasinbray/.
If you are hosting an in-person or virtual community event this Christmas, bray.ie more than happy to help promote an event or events for free simply complete the online submission form at https://bray.ie/events/.
All events and activities are subject to change without notice. Competitions close on Friday, December 16th 2022.
