Renfrewshire’s towns to light up for Christmas

Towns across Renfrewshire will officially mark the start of the festive season as the Christmas lights are due to be switched on over the coming weeks at a series of events supported by Renfrewshire Council. 

In Renfrew the celebrations return to the town centre with a festive day out for all the family from 12 noon on Saturday 22 November 

There will be live stage performances from local acts and primary school choirs throughout the day, a family funfair in Charles Avenue car park, and a Christmas Market selling seasonal fare.  

Santa will be waiting in Renfrew Fellowship Church to hear all about what the children of Renfrew are hoping to find in their stockings this year, and there are free family Scottish and festive music sessions in Renfrew Town Hall with Fèis Phàislig throughout the day. 

The day will culminate with the traditional Renfrew Burgh Band carol concert, which will take place in Renfrew Town Hall at 3.30pm, before Renfrewshire’s Provost Lorraine Cameron and Renfrew’s Christmas Card competition winner switch on the town’s Christmas Lights at 5pm. 

In Erskine, the Christmas Lights Switch-On will take place on Friday 28 November from 5:45pm in Bridgewater Shopping Centre, outside Erskine Swimming Pool. 

Santa will be making a visit to Erskine to collect everyone’s Christmas letters, and don’t miss the giant snowglobe – a perfect festive photo opportunity. 

There will be stalls from local community groups and businesses, festive characters to meet and performances from school choirs. 

At 7pm Provost Cameron will present Erskine’s Young Citizen of the Year Award before she’s joined by Erskine’s Christmas Card competition winner to switch on the town’s Christmas lights. 

This event is run by Erskine & District Rotary Club and supported by Renfrewshire Council. 

It’s Johnstone’s turn on Saturday 29 November and Houstoun Square will be transformed into a winter wonderland with a variety of entertainment on offer. 

There’ll be entertainment in the bandstand from 1pm with Johnstone Sound and local acts performing live throughout the day. 

Santa will be in town to meet the children of Johnstone, and don’t forget to visit the Christmas Market, hosted by St Vincent’s Hospice, to get a start on some of your Christmas shopping. 

There are activities for all ages with a funfair on site in Houstoun Square and free festive photo opportunities and facepainting throughout the day. 

At 5pm the community will come together at the bandstand as Provost Lorraine Cameron and Johnstone’s Christmas Card competition winner light up Johnstone for the Christmas period. 

Finally, Linwood will light up for the festive season at a special carol concert on Friday 5 December in the Tweedie Hall, featuring performances from local school choirs and Johnstone Band. 

The concert is fully booked but there’s still a whole host of free drop-in festive family fun on offer from 5:30pm in Tweedie Hall, including festive storytelling sessions, Christmas discos and arts and crafts. 

Linwood Library will be open until 7:30pm with festive activities and don’t miss the chance to snap your perfect family festive photo in our giant snow globe. 

At 7:30pm Santa and Renfrewshire’s Depute Provost Cathy McEwan will turn on Linwood’s lights for the festive season with Linwood’s Christmas Card competition winner. 

The extended festive events programme was made possible by extra investment from the council to work with local communities to deliver a calendar of cultural events for the area’s five main town centres. 

Renfrewshire’s Provost Lorraine Cameron said: “Switching the lights on is always a highlight of my year and I am excited to once again be able to give local children from across Renfrewshire the opportunity to take part in this special moment. 

“I love seeing our communities embrace the Christmas spirit and with events taking place in all of Renfrewshire’s main town centres there’s plenty of choice for a fantastic festive treat for all the family.” 

Research shows around 70p from every pound spent in the local area stays in the local area and Renfrewshire Council are encouraging visitors to the Christmas events to take part in the Spend Local campaign and support the wide range of businesses on offer in the town centres. 

Visit https://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/spendlocal for more information.