ORGANISERS of a popular Christmas fair have re-branded the event.

The seasonal fair in Lavenham has now been re-named the Lavenham Christmas Festival and Street Fair, so that it can incorporate a host of other events and activities taking place in the village on the same weekend.

Street Fair organising committee chairman Sarah Rand said: “This is the third year we have organised the street fair and it was decided that it would be a good idea to bring all the other things that happen in Lavenham at this time together under one theme.

“So, if people are visiting the village for one event, they have the option of staying on and taking in a few more.

“There’s a lot happening and Lavenham is a perfect backdrop for a Christmas event. When you see the village all lit up at this time of year, it’s magical.”

The festival is set to take on December 7, 8 and 9, and starts with the switching on of the Christmas lights in a ceremony in the Market Place at 6pm on Friday, December 7. The finale of the three-day event will be a Christmas carol service in the village hall on Sunday, December 9.

In between there will be a number of highlights, including more than 40 stalls spread throughout the Guildhall, the Market Place and Market Lane on the Saturday. These will be selling a range of seasonal gifts and foods.

Children will have the chance to meet Father Christmas twice – in his grotto at the Lavenham School Christmas Fair on the Friday night, and again on the Saturday in his grotto in Little Hall. There will also be vintage rides for children and grown-ups in the Market Place on the Saturday.

Music will be provided by a buskers’ circle in the Market Place on the Saturday while a guided lantern walk through town is due to take place later that afternoon.

The Christmas mood is set to continue with a Last Night of the Proms performance by the Newmarket Town Brass Band planned to take place in Lavenham’s village hall on the night of Saturday, December 8.

Little Hall will also be staging a Christmas Craft exhibition and there will be a Christmas Tree Festival at the Salvation Army Hall on the Common on the Friday night and all day on the Saturday.