THE FESTIVE spirit was out in full force over the weekend as Welshpool, Montgomery and Newtown turned on their Christmas lights.
Not even Storm Arwen could stop the display, with residents of each town coming out in numbers for Saturday's festivities.
Each town’s festival made a welcome return after a year long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In Newtown, Father Christmas pressed the switch to turn on the lights amid a burst of fireworks, and mayor Richard Williams said: “It was great to see so many people in Newtown on Saturday night helping us officially kick off Christmas.
“We were so pleased that Santa was able to take some time out of his busy schedule to come and visit us and my many thanks to the Alliance Theatre and my fellow councillors and staff at the town council for pulling off a fantastic event in such a short space of time.”
Mr Williams said the feedback from those attending has also been very enthusiastic.
He added: “The comments I’ve received and seen on social media are incredibly positive and it was great to bring back our Christmas market on Bear Lanes to support local charities and businesses, at a very important time of the year for our local economy.”
Welshpool's lights were also deemed a resounding success by town Mayor Allison Davies.
She said: “It was such an exciting, new event that was such a welcome return after last year.
"We’re really pleased with the response we have gotten from local residents and thrilled at the great turnout. It was bitterly cold but despite that people still turned out in full force."
Ms Davies thanked the volunteers and workers at the festival, special guest Jim Roberts and the fairground workers, saying; “We’re incredibly grateful to the volunteers who helped make this happen, especially the fairground workers, some of whom travelled as far as Manchester to be here to help."
Even with the success of this year still fresh, she was looking ahead, adding; “I’m sure we did the absolute best we could, and that we can do even better next year. We can only go forward”.
This success was also seen in Montgomery, where residents used mulled wine and hot chocolate to combat the cold.
“Thank you to all the visitors and volunteers who helped make this a busy and festive event," said Ann Yewdall from the Christmas Festival committee.
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