Staff and students at Northampton College have lent a helping hand to play their part in preparing Santa’s Grotto, ahead of the launch of the town’s Christmas celebrations this Saturday.
Northampton’s Christmas lights switch-on takes place in Market Square, with Santa’s Grotto also opening in Grosvenor Shopping Northampton this weekend.
The grotto has been assembled and decorated by construction students and staff, in conjunction with Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District (BID), while dance students will also be performing live on stage at the switch-on.
Jason Lancaster, principal of Northampton College, said: “Supporting community events such as this is hugely important to us as a college and is a brilliant way for our students to get involved in special occasions that bring the town together.
“The grotto is looking spectacular, and the construction team have done a fantastic job in creating a magical winter wonderland for families to enjoy. This has been an invaluable experience for them, effectively working to a brief from a client in the shape of the BID, and is something they can all be proud of.
“The dancers are looking forward to taking to the stage in front of a big crowd, again giving them an insight into what they can expect in their future careers. The countdown to Christmas is well and truly on and we’re delighted to be playing our part in bringing the town together to celebrate.”
The grotto build is the latest project in an ongoing partnership between Northampton College and Northampton BID that has seen students make vital contributions to work to improve areas in the town centre, including St Giles Churchyard and St Katherine’s Gardens.
Mark Mullen, operations manager for Northampton BID, said: “We’re extremely grateful to the construction team for their support once again in producing this year’s grotto. It looks fantastic and they have gone above and beyond, hand-painting signs and producing wooden character cut-outs to make this year’s grotto our biggest and best yet.”
The grotto will be open every weekend in the run-up to Christmas and costs just £2 per family, with proceeds going to two charities, Rockin’ Roadrunner and The County Toy Library.
To book, visit www.discovernorthampton.co.uk/christmas
