Friday 1st December saw the opening evening of the first ever Nene Park Winter Festival, which will run until Christmas at Lakeside in Ferry Meadows. Sughra Ahmed, MD of Peterborough Cultural Alliance joined Nene Park Trust to cut the tinsel and officially launch the festival, which welcomed thousands of visitors over the opening weekend.
Highlights from festival-goers so far have included the magical moon and animal tea party installation, watching the Snowman in the cosy cinema and roasting marshmallows in the enchanted forest. Another visitor shared how happy they were to find a festive event on their doorstep that appeals to all ages, kick-starting the Christmas magic for their family this year.
‘I’m so pleased with the visitor feedback from the opening weekend. We set out on this event planning journey six months ago, with one objective, to bring high-quality, affordable festive tingles to Peterborough and we’ve definitely achieved that. The Winter Festival combines all the arts – performance, cinema, dance, music and poetry, with the added extra of a beautiful light trail. Something completely different for Ferry Meadows in the winter, and for Peterborough too!’
Pete Edwards, Nene Park Trust’s Event Manager
The festival experience includes an illuminated willow sculpture trail and enchanting dance and musical performances curated by Eastern School of Performing Arts. An audio-visual poetry installation adds to the forest theme. It features brand-new poems by Syntax Poetry Collective members Mark Grist, Charley Genever, Lauren Kendrick and Sandy Wardrop, inspired by their most loved forest creatures.
Visitors can also sit back and enjoy a showing of the Christmas classic ‘The Snowman’ in our cosy travelling cinema truck, a truly unique experience!
Traditional fairground stalls and festive food and drink cabins added to the Winter Festival experience, along with Nene Park’s very own Christmas Pop-Up Shop.
The Winter Festival will be open daily from 4pm until 24th December, with tickets priced at just £9.50 each (free for carers and under 3s) and free parking included. All ticket proceeds go straight towards the upkeep of the Park, making this event Nene Park Trust’s largest fundraiser of the year! Book your tickets now at www.nenepark.org.uk/winter-festival
