This December All Saints’ Church in Leamington will be transformed into a magical and dazzling Christmas wonderland from Saturday 9 to Sunday 17 December. The festival will open with a ‘relaxed session’ from 12 to 3pm for those with autism or SENS.

Whittle Productions, the local creative community events company, with Charles Craft from the church piloted the event last year. They welcomed over 3,000 visitors to enjoy these uniquely decorated Christmas trees whilst also supporting the on-site Ukrainian Tisto café and raising funds for the Ups of Downs Charity.

Carole Sleight and David Clargo from Whittle Productions say, ‘We want to create a sparkly festive event in a spectacular location and at the same time promote a wonderful cross section of not-for-profit organisations and local businesses.’

The 5-foot potted trees are supplied by Smith’s Nurseries in Baginton and when you sponsor one its yours to keep or gift on. The trees cost £40 for a charity or not for profit and £60 for a business. The Enchanted Tea Rooms in Leamington will again be sponsoring a large memory tree, where visitors can dedicate a message to a loved one and hang it on this special tree.

The festival is supported by BID Leamington and Councillor Sidney Syson, Leamington Town Council also awarded the festival a community grant for the creation of 5 bespoke trees which will be made with a local school, care homes and community groups. There will be prizes for the most sparkly, upcycled and one with the best back story. The judges BBC Presenter Mary Rhodes, Father Christopher from All Saints’ Church and The Chair of Warwick District Council, Cllr. Sidney Syson will have a busy time selecting from the stunning creations.

This year the festival will be fundraising for local charity Helping Hands who have sponsored 2 trees to represent their Esther project which supports women in our community who are facing challenges such as domestic abuse or homelessness and Elijah’s Rest, a support group for vulnerable men. Lianne Kirkman, Director of Helping hands says ‘We are delighted to be taking part as it’s an opportunity to meet and engage with people and talk about the work we do at Helping Hands supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our community. ‘

If you’d like to sponsor a tree then email leamtreefest@gmail.com) entry to the festival is £2, under 18’s entry is free. All are invited to come and experience the magic!