Christmas Tree Festival

After the very different virtual festival in 2020  we are planning that our 16th Christmas Tree Festival will be will be ‘almost’ back to it’s usual format. We will for obvious reasons have to make some adjustments to ensure everyone feels safe, but feel sure that visitors will continue to be amazed at the ingenuity of may individuals and organisations that take part in this community event. With 60 trees in our ancient church, as well as other displays on the Christmas theme, the church will again look very festive.

The festival commences on Saturday 4th December and will be open each weekend up to Christmas. Saturdays 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sundays 12 noon – 6 p.m. The church can also be opened by arrangement for groups during the week.

During the event there will be hot drinks and mince pies available from the annexe to take away, or to have a few tables in the annexe, or as best we can arrange in the churchyard. The church may also not be as warm as in the past, to aid ventilation.

Admission will continue to be £2.00 per person, and accompanied children under 12 will be free. The proceeds will be in aid of Church funds, with a donation of 10% being given to the Mary Ann Evans Hospice.

On Friday 17th Jess and Richard Arrowsmith with special guest Jo Maher will be returning as part of their Christmas Tour, performing a concert of traditional English songs and music with Christmas carols included. If, because of the virus, it is not possible to be held in the church it will be held, as last year, by Zoom. The cost and ticket availability will be advised later.  This is really well received each year.

This Festival is enjoyed by all ages, starting with the “Wow” factor when entering the church with all the lights on. We are sure that our tree decorators will come up with equally imaginative titles as in past years.

There will be the usual trees that we have each year e.g. the Poppy Tree and The Remembrance Tree, where visitors can put the names of loved ones on a star and make a donation toward cutting the grass in the churchyard. In the vestry there will be the Prayer Tree and the opportunity to light a candle.

Other than the trees, there are a selection of Christmas and winter displays in some of the windows and suspended from arches and ceilings. As in previous years, there will be a crib on the altar to remind all of us that the gift to mankind of the baby Jesus is the true meaning of Christmas.

The report and photographs of the 2019 year’s festival can found at

http://ansleychurch.org/articles/articles.php?id=784