Paisley Christmas events set to help drive festive footfall to town centre

Renfrewshire Council has organised Paisley’s Christmas in partnership with town centre business improvement district Paisley First, and with Scotland’s Theme Park.

The programme will run from Wednesday 30 November to Friday 30 December (excluding Christmas and Boxing Days). Highlights include:

– an ice-rink in County Square, plus funfair rides along Gilmour Street and Central Way, run by Scotland’s Theme Park, open seven days a week;

– Paisley First’s Christmas market featuring local traders on the High Street (Friday to Sunday) with free activities including Paisley’s Christmas Gingerbread Trail, reindeer and children’s street entertainers every weekend in December;

– an additional programme of free family events at various town centre venues, with details to be confirmed soon;

– The Paisley Centre will also be hosting a Santa’s Grotto;

The programme will include a moment to mark the switch-on of the town’s Christmas lights, with details of that to be confirmed.

The ice rink requires to be booked in advance – tickets will be on sale from Friday 30 September via www.paisley.is.

Louisa Mahon, Renfrewshire Council’s head of marketing, communications and events, said: “We are delighted to be working with our colleagues at Paisley First to deliver a month-long programme of Paisley’s Christmas events designed to help drive footfall to local traders.

“Around 70p from every pound spent in the local economy stays in the local economy, so we always encourage residents to Spend Local where they can – and this programme gives extra reasons to come into Paisley town centre and discover the many great businesses it has to offer.

“Every weekend, families will be able to enjoy the carnival, cosy cafes, and Christmas characters. and take part in lots of free activities. Our free family programme is due to be announced soon on www.paisley.is and will have something for everyone to enjoy.”

Colette Cardosi, Chair of Paisley First, said: “We can’t wait to bring festive fun for the whole family to enjoy back to Paisley town centre this Christmas.

“We’ll have entertainment for the kids, a chance for you to get your Christmas shopping sorted, and plenty of food and drink venues to help you make the most of festive family get-togethers.

“And don’t forget, Paisley’s Christmas Golden Ticket competition is back with £1,000 of Paisley town centre gift vouchers up for grabs for four lucky winners. Paisley is the only place to be this Christmas!”

The Paisley’s Christmas programme sits alongside the wider programme of council-run events taking place across Renfrewshire.

Next up is Paisley Halloween Festival – expected to attract tens of thousands of people over three evenings of spectacular live performances and spooky installations from Thursday 27 to Saturday 29 October.

Renfrew’s Christmas lights switch-on event will be on the afternoon of Saturday 26 November in a new venue of Robertson Park, with attractions including a Christmas market, Santa’s grotto, cinema tent and more.

And it will be Johnstone’s turn in the spotlight a week later on Saturday 3 December with an afternoon of fun including a funfair, craft market and Santa’s grotto in Houstoun Square, plus children’s activities at Station Seven.

Other community-run Christmas events will be taking place in towns and villages around Renfrewshire – check the www.paisley.is website nearer the time for more information.