December 2024
Tickets are now on sale for Christmas celebrations at Blists Hill Victorian Town. From carolling and panto-style entertainment to period festive food and drink, and, of course, the chance to meet Father Christmas, there will be a range of festive events for all the family. Plus, for the first time in 2024, there will be a special grotto for visitors with SEND and dementia.
On 7, 8, 14 and 15 December, Blists Hill Victorian Town will host its Victorian Christmas Weekends. The town’s streets and buildings will be filled with traditional decorations and the air will ring out with festive music from a live band and choir. There will be four Christmas Grottos where children will be able to meet Father Christmas in unique settings like the Victorian mine and sawmill, while in the Victorian schoolroom children will be able to take lessons to learn how to be a Christmas Elf. Visitors will learn about the traditions of Christmas past from the town’s costumed demonstrators and enjoy authentic live entertainment at a panto-style show. Some of the town’s eating places will host a seasonal menu and last-minute shoppers will be able to take advantage of the Christmas Emporium and Victorian exhibits to buy unique gifts and stocking-fillers including delicious foods and local-made crafts.
On the evenings of 11, 18 and 19 December, Blists Hill will host Christmas Lates, an opportunity to experience the festive cheer of a Dickensian Christmas after dark. Characters from Charles Dickens’s Christmas favourite, A Christmas Carol, will make an appearance on the streets of the Victorian town as visitors sip on mulled wine or hot chocolate and listen to carol singers or a live band. The town’s shops, adorned in festive decorations, will sell unique Christmas gifts.
For the first time, in 2024 the Trust is hosting a special Calm Christmas with an adapted grotto suited to children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and the ‘young at heart’. Between 11 and 19 December there will be sessions dedicated to schools with a SEND provision or other similar support organisations. On Friday 20 December and Saturday 21 December dementia-friendly sessions dedicated to the ‘young at heart’, and sessions dedicated to families with children or young people with SEND, can be booked by members of the public.
Lauren Collier, Head of Interpretation at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “Many of the Christmas traditions we know and love today have their roots in the Victorian era, from Christmas trees and their decorations to Christmas cards and crackers. At Blists Hill Victorian Town we can bring the fun and joy of these traditions to life in an authentic setting for an extra special experience.”
Nick Ralls, Chief Executive Officer of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, said: “Our Christmas events are a lot of fun for visitors and staff alike and an opportunity to lift the spirits during the short winter days. However, it is important to remember that as a heritage conservation and education charity, we rely on the income from events like these to fund our work year-round preserving historic buildings, providing educational school trips for children and telling the stories of the rich history of the Ironbridge Gorge in our museums and displays. When they attend an event, our visitors are helping ensure we can continue to do our vital work.”
For full details of Christmas events and tickets, visit www.ironbridge.org.uk. PASS PLUS holders get 10% off Christmas Weekends and Christmas Lates.
