A MAJOR investment by Tenbury Chamber of Trade has come to light.

The Chamber of Trade has invested more than £6,000 in improving Tenbury Christmas lights.

Now people can see how the money has been spent following the big switch on outside the Regal.

Characters from the Regal pantomime ‘Dick Whittington’ were among the crowd to watch the lights being turned on and a section of Teme Street was closed for a time.

The switch-on signalled the ‘green light’ to the start of the Christmas shopping season in Tenbury. It also marks the start of more than a month of festivities and special events.

Next on the agenda is the Mistletoe Festival and Santa Parade that takes place on Saturday, December 3.

There will be a day of activities that will include markets at different locations in the town, street theatre and other entertainment.

Druids will make their annual visit to Tenbury and the day will culminate with the crowning of the Mistletoe Queen – traditionally the head girl from the Tenbury High School.

This will take place at just after 4pm on the first Saturday in December as the sun sets. This is just three weeks before the winter solstice and the fact that it is near the shortest day of the year adds to the atmosphere.

The various markets during the day will involve more than 40 craft and produce stalls. In the evening there will be a special ‘Under the Mistletoe’ event between 8pm and 10pm in the Kings Head that will include local people telling their own stories.

The mistletoe sales will be held at the Burford House Garden store on Tuesday, November 29 and on Tuesday, December 6 and Tuesday, December 13.