1. Christmas lights switch on
It was Solihull’s turn, on Friday evening the Christmas lights were ignited. It was a special annual
event where friends and families alike came out in numbers to enjoy the event, even though the
weather was in a foul mood throughout the day; Mell square was packed full of happy faced people
up for the festive event.
The light switch-on took place at 8:00pm, this was then followed by the town’s Christmas carol
performance and finally the event was topped off with a fabulous firework display.
A student from The Sixth Form College, Solihull went to the Christmas light’s switch-on event on
Friday evening, he said“various bulbs illuminated the trees and shone out from the rest of the
town”.
The student who witnessed the switch- on, who lives in Solihullhimself said “I think this is really good
because everyone turned out, people were happy and I think it was an honour to experience
something like this”.
He further went on to say “It’s a once in a life time opportunity in my opinion to see something like
this”.
This year’s switch-on was the first of its kind and had attracted over 500 people. There was also a
Christmas fair was involved and other activities.
The event was Well-attended by the people, highlights of the evening included food stalls, face
paintings and crafts. Surprisingly two Santa’s were also in attendance this saw youngsters queuing
up and streaming in their numbers.
One person from the Solihull community said “It will always be a good community event; I think
everyone understood that they wanted this to be known as a good thing for Solihull…”.
“…It’s been a really good turn out even though the weather was not at its best, people still came in
and participated, I’m really proud of the people who were involved…”
“…Because of the austere times were living in its good for local residents to get involved and to
come out…”
Nathan and Maya said “to see all these people out, from families to friends is just amazing, we’re
enjoying it a lot and I hope the community builds from this in a positive manner”.
The evening ended in crowds of people signing a Christmas carol together.
Money raised within some of the activities and stalls was given to various charities, so that the
unfortunate could experience the whole ‘Christmas fever’.