Thousands of people have enjoyed the sights, smells and shopping at the region’s biggest Christmas events in Bury St Edmunds.
St Edmundsbury Council believe that around 125,000 people flocked to the west Suffolk town for its annual Christmas Fayre which took place between Thursday and Sunday.
Over 300 stalls were on offer to those looking to start their Christmas shopping with everything from canine cookies to handmade decorations and gifts on offer.
Visitors were also treated to cookery demonstrations, fairground rides, Santa’s grotto and live music entertaining crowds across the four-day festival.
The Haart Community Stage was a new offering for this year’s market and held performances from a number of acoustic acts as well as tasters of St Benedict’s School’s production of Beauty and the Beast.
For younger fayre goers there was also a princess visit and a puppet show to ensure all age groups were covered.
Extra trains were put on between Bury and Ipswich to cope with the crowds hoping to grab a bargain at the event.
A council spokesman said: “The Christmas Fayre has for the last couple of years attracted around 125,000 people over the space of the four days. We think that this year’s figure will be around the same.
“That said, this year has felt less packed as we had more attractions including The Guildhall as well as lots of stalls and entertainment organised by our fantastic array of independent shops, all of which meant that the fayre felt more evenly spread out for people to enjoy.
“We were also brilliantly supported by community groups including choirs and schools and youngsters from West Suffolk College who joined our team of stewards welcoming visitors to the fayre and helping them out with any queries that they may have had.
“We have had very good feedback from fayre-goers both from the local area and visitors to the town and we will be speaking to the Business Improvement District (BID) Our Bury St Edmunds to understand the impact good and bad the fayre has had on local businesses.”
A review into the fayre will be discussed by the council’s cabinet this week.
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