Parade heralds Santa’s arrival

SANTA Claus is coming to town along with Rudolph, a host of cartoon characters and hundreds of street performers for Oldham’s biggest ever Christmas countdown.

This year’s event kicks off tomorrow with Santa’s Reindeer Parade, complete with real reindeer and children’s TV star Pingu.

The fun starts at 11am when street performers will be handing out sweets and hats to youngsters before Santa’s arrival at 1pm.

Also on offer is live music, colourful characters, Mother Christmas and the elves, the Mayor and Mayoress of Oldham and cast of Coliseum pantomime “Mother Goose”.

The parade starts in Clegg Street and takes in High Street, Lord Street, Albion Street, Henshaw Street and ends up back in High Street.

Father Christmas will open his grotto, in its new home outside Peacocks, while the reindeer rest in Albion Street.

Angelina Ballerina will pirouette into town on Sunday, November 15, to switch on the town centre festive lights.

And Santa’s Festive Village — complete with ice rink and enchanting market stalls — will open on Saturday, November 28, for 16 days.

Jackie Stanton, deputy council leader, said: “Oldham’s Christmas shopping campaign has always been one of the best in the region but this year’s line-up is bigger, bolder and better than ever.

“With so much talk about the credit crunch, Oldham Council and its partners wanted to do all that they could to support local businesses through tough economic times.

“We also wanted to provide a wider range of opportunities for everyone in our community to come together to celebrate Christmas in a fun and family-oriented setting.

“This weekend’s Reindeer Parade is the opening event in a programme that is now almost double the size of what has been done in previous years.

“The total line-up includes visits from more than 350 performers and has taken almost eight months of exhaustive planning.

“There will be something for everyone in Oldham this Christmas and we’re certain the public will be excited by what they see when they visit the town centre.”