Activities include Christmas market and open air ice rink
By Clive Davies
photo courtesy of Clive Davies
Christmas festivities in Aberdeen got underway over the weekend with the opening of the annual Christmas Village.
Union Street was closed to traffic as visitors gathered to enjoy the Christmas lights switch-on parade. Aberdeen's Christmas tree, a Norwegian Fir, which is gifted each year by the sister city of Stavanger and stands in Castlegate Square, was also lit.
The Christmas Village, located on Broad Street, is organised by the Aberdeen City Council in partnership with John Codona’s Pleasure Fairs and Aberdeen Inspired. Activities include an open-air ice rink and a variety of Christmas themed fairground rides.
The Village Square, located at the heart of the Village, is where visitors can enjoy a range of food and drink, including bratwurst, churros, pancakes and mulled wine.
'Curated in the Quad,' an open-air Christmas market, is situated in the Marischal College Quadrangle. It features a variety of locally produced artwork, crafts, jewellery, clothing, gifts as well as gourmet food and drink. Each week will feature a unique line-up of stalls. The market is curated by Charlie House, a North East Scotland charity, in partnership with Aberdeen Inspired.
Stallholder Lorna of Curiously Charmed said: ‘It's so good because at the moment we've got Curated Aberdeen in Bon Accord that not a lot of people know about, but with Charlie House running this as well, more and more people are finding about it.’
"Everybody here is local, and that's such a big thing, because we get to sell our stuff to people who see us and know that we're the sellers!"
The market will be open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the lead-up to Christmas. The exact times can be found on the Aberdeen City Council website.
Market Manager Lauren said: "Charlie House are a charity supporting children and young people with life-limiting conditions. Like last year we're doing this Christmas market, every store holder pays a fee to be here, and all profits goes directly to supporting the charity."
"Our main mission is to build a facility here in Aberdeen that supports those children and families. Currently they have to travel over a hundred miles to get to the nearest facility for support, and for a child with complex needs that can be such a stressful journey. Big Build is the mission that we're on, to raise £8 million to build that facility at Woodend beside the Hospital."
"We're open for five weeks here but we've also got our market inside called the Curated Aberdeen Market open every weekend all year round."
Further activities that visitors will be able to enjoy at the village include:
Christmas Sculpture Trail - Thursday 1 December 2022 to 24 December 2022
Nativity Scene - Monday 28 November 2022 to Thursday 5 January 2023
(Blessing Event: 28 November)
Carol Concerts - Saturday 17 December 2022
Hogmanay - Saturday 31 December 2022
