A Winter Fest for Swindon.
Swindon’s town centre will come alive on Saturday 22 November. There’ll be a magical one-day festival of:
- Culture
- Creativity and community.
- Along with community workshops in the weeks leading up to the event and a special festive trail lasting until Christmas Eve.
Swindon Winter Fest
Swindon Winter Fest celebrates the creativity of Swindon through FREE family-friendly, imaginative experiences. Taking place at locations around the town centre, the festival will invite families to follow a whimsical winter trail. On it they’ll discover giant, interactive imaginary creatures, a magical lantern forest and lots of inspiring free activities along the way.
Prepare to be mesmerised as The Whilers, by innovative creative tech studio Air Giants, interact with the crowd and each other. These larger-than-life, otherworldly glowing creatures are unlike anything you’ve seen before. They’re part sloth, part spirit, part dragon. Standing at an incredible 3 metres tall and powered by advanced robotic technology their expressive movements allow them to interact with:
- audiences
- their surroundings and each other to create an unforgettable, almost dreamlike encounter.
The winter wonder continues thanks to local artists. They’ll be transforming a vacant retail unit into an ethereal lantern forest. All with the help of community groups, school children and visitors. This magical installation will grow throughout the day as visitors create their own lanterns to add to the display.
Run, run as fast as you can you can’t catch me I’m the gingerbread man
Children of all ages will love following the panto-inspired Muddles’ Gingerbread Man Trail. On it they can find decorated characters hidden in local business windows as part of a fun discovery challenge organised by Artsite.
Families can also join in with a range of free creative workshops and activities organised throughout the day. These include Sleeping-Beauty themed crafts inspired by the Wyvern Theatre’s unmissable pantomime.
Alongside the other activities, Winter Fest will present ‘Once Upon a Thriftmas. That’s an initiative to encourage visitors to come and start their Christmas and festive shopping in the town centre. There, there’ll be a wonderful community of charity shops offering budget-friendly, sustainable gift options.
Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree
Brightening The Parade in the town centre will be festive lighting and a Christmas tree.
This new event is a first pilot for new ways of bringing the public and creative sector together. It’s the beginning of an ambitious 2-year programme to raise the profile of the town’s vibrant creative and cultural sector. Organisers hope to build on learnings from 2025 to develop more ambitious plans for the festive season across the town in future years.
Making it happen
Supported by Arts Council England’s National Lottery Place Partnership Fund, Winter Fest is a partnership between:
- Swindon Culture Collective
- Swindon Borough Council, Wyvern Theatre
- Artsite
- Gel Studios, along with artists drawn from across the town.
Dr Rod Hebden, Director of Swindon Culture Collective CIC, said: “It’s been a joyful experience working with so many local people and organisations to create something so magical this year. And something different from the standard approach where there’s a divide between performers and the public. This year, families can get involved and help create the magic together and make wonderful memories.’
Councillor Marina Strinkovsky, Swindon Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Placemaking and Planning, said: ‘I’m so pleased that we can bring Christmas activities to the town centre again. And that we’re doing it in collaboration with our partners at the Swindon Culture Collective.
‘Swindon Winter Fest is going to be full of creative activities and opportunities for sustainable Christmas shopping. The town centre has lots of thrift and charity shops that offer pre-loved gifts looking for a new home. And it’s a great opportunity to support local organisations in an environmentally friendly and affordable way.
It’s clear the experience won’t be complete without a Christmas tree in the Parade and Christmas lights to cheer up the darker season. So looking forward to it!’
