Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre: Everything you need to know as festive extravaganza begins
The Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre kicks off today (November 21) with a parade and fireworks.
The festive extravaganza runs until Sunday with thousands of people expected to descend on the town.
The event promises more than 300 stalls selling gift ideas, arts and crafts, food and winter warming drinks as well as a packed programme of entertainment. See our interactive map for a run down of activities and parking details:
It begins today with a children's parade at 5.30pm from The Apex to Angel Hill and fireworks in the Abbey Gardens at 8pm.
Among the new activities at this year’s fayre will be a Thursday market running from noon to 6pm on The Buttermarket, featuring local producers, crafts and regular market stalls.
Over the course of the four days students from St Benedict’s Catholic School, County Upper School, Ickworth Primary School, Westley Middle School and Tollgate Primary School will all take to the Greene King stage to perform.
The Greene King stage will also feature the The Honington Military Wives, The West Stow Drummers, the Children’s Theatre Company, the School of Rock and The St Cecilia Chorale while the Haart Community Stage will see Stagecoach, Barrow Friendly Folk, solo artists including West Suffolk College’s Brooke Telling.
Churches Together and the Salvation Army Band will bring the fayre to a close on the Sunday on the Greene King stage.
Knit and Natter meanwhile have been busy preparing for a special advent calendar – children will look in the windows of shops to find the nativity characters following clues to a nativity scene in the twenty fourth window.
A park and ride service will run from 11am on the Thursday through to the Sunday evening.
Park and walk from West Suffolk Council's car park in Olding Road is only 15 minutes from the fayre and will be available on the Saturday and Sunday.
Greene King and West Suffolk College’s car parks will also be available during the weekend of the fayre.
To ensure safety, a range of physical security measures will be in place including barriers and bollards as well as uniformed police, both armed and unarmed, plain clothed patrols and police dogs.
For more details, visit www.burystedmundschristmasfayre.co.uk
Road closures:
- From 6pm car parking is suspended on Angel Hill until 11pm Sunday, November 24.
- From 6pm car parking is suspended in parking bays in Hatter Street until 10pm Sunday.
- Angel Hill from 9.30am road will be closed until 11pm Sunday.
- Cornhill and Buttermarket - from 6pm road closed and parking suspended until 6pm Sunday.
- Chequer Square from 6pm parking suspended until 10pm Sunday.
- Hatter Street – from 10am road closed until 10pm Sunday.
- High Baxter Street – no through traffic to Hatter Street, access only from 10am until 10pm Sunday.
- Crown Street and Honey Hill – from 6pm no residents parking, limited parking, parking suspended until Sunday.
- Angel Lane – road closed from 11am until 10pm Sunday.
- Lower Baxter Street – no through traffic to Angel Lane, access only from 11am until 10pm Sunday.
- St Johns Street/Brentgovel Street – road closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9am until 6pm Sunday.
- Great Churchyard – road closed to all vehicles on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 3pm until 5.30pm.
Watch our video of the first day of the fayre:
Read more: Extra Sunday trains for Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre
