We’re delighted to announce that a three-day EasterFest will be coming to Newbury as part of an enhanced offering for the town in the Easter holidays.
Arriving on Friday 15th April, the Wonderland-themed event is set to attract visitors from across the region, as classic children’s characters, Alice, Mad Hatter, and the Queen of Hearts, deliver musical performances and meet and greets. They’ll be joined by the Easter Bunny hosting a special story time of magical tales, which children can take advantage of in between a town centre Easter egg hunt, hidden amongst giant objects such as a life-size chess set, chair and much more, scattered around Wonderland. Additionally, street entertainers will roam the streets while live music will light up a stage near a street food court, alongside a wide variety of exciting and vibrant market stalls.
The EasterFest event will be located along the main high street in Northbrook Street and will continue along Bartholomew Street – Newbury’s quirkier quarter lined with independent businesses on either side. Visitors are encouraged to take advantage of both independent and national brands already at home in historic Newbury, who will be open for business and ready to welcome visitors on event days and beyond. The event will take place between 10am and 8pm on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th April, with an earlier finish time of 5pm on the final day of the event, Sunday 17th April. Please visit the event page on the our website by clicking here, for an updated entertainment programme in the coming weeks.
We’re confident EasterFest will be welcomed with open arms by local businesses and residents alike after delivering a successful three-day Victorian Fayre over the Christmas period last year, which drew in over 90,000 visitors to the town centre. The event is being delivered in partnership with market operators, LSD Promotions, who are the market operators for not only Newbury’s Artisan Market, but the Victorian Christmas Fayre and last year’s one-day Food and Drink Festival.
We’re inviting any traders who would be interested in having a stall at this first-of-its-kind event in Newbury to get in touch with market operators, LSD Promotions, by clicking here.
In addition to this Mad Hatter-inspired event, we’re is also collaborating with local charity, Swings and Smiles, to deliver a two-week Easter Egg Hunt over the holidays from Saturday 9th –Sunday 24th April. There will be prizes to be won, with all proceeds from the hunt going to charity. More information will be available online on the events section of our website.
Alison Drummond, our Operations Manager, states:
By working in partnership once again with LSD Promotions on EasterFest, and by collaborating with local charity, Swings and Smiles, on an exciting Easter Egg Hunt across the town centre, Newbury’s Easter holiday offering is arguably the most exciting yet!
As we near the end of our BID ballot, it’s even more important for us at the BID to deliver an event that benefits the town centre and our levy-paying businesses, as this could be our last! Without a majority “yes” vote, Newbury BID, our Visit Newbury brand and events such as these will cease, and all the hard work we have done to put Newbury on the map and increase footfall back to pre-covid levels would be lost.
We’re committed to making Newbury a great place to live, work, visit, and do business. If you run a levy-paying business, your YES vote can help to secure five more years of funding to retain the BID team and deliver events such as these. All the information you need about when and how to vote is available here.
If you’re a trader and would like to apply for a space at the festival, please click here.
For a list of all events taking place in Newbury town centre and beyond, please click here.
