Category: Events

Meet Santa at Freshney Place this Christmas in his magical Elf Station!
Freshney Place Shopping Centre is getting prepared to receive a very special visitor as Father Christmas and his Elves arrive in readiness to meet local children at their magical Elf Station.
Children, who have been waiting all year for this special day, will be able to join Santa and his busy Elves free of charge as they prepare for Christmas in their cheery, festive work station. Surrounded by wonderful decorations, they will be able to take part in lots of fun activities as well as write their own special letter to Father Christmas including that all important gift list!
Adding a little more fun to the day, families can follow Santa’s footsteps from the Wood Keepers Cottage located in Friargate Square near BB’s, all the way to the Elf Station on Baxtergate near the Customer Service Desk, to enjoy the festive fun.
All children posting their letters before 16th December will receive a posted reply from Santa and don’t forget, if the Elf Station is closed or children have written their letter at home, it can still reach Santa when posted in the post box, located at the Wood Keepers Cottage.
In addition to writing their Christmas letters to Santa, children can spend time at The Elf Station to take part in various crafting activities. Not only that, strike your best pose for a family photo and receive a free print to take home!! A perfect memento of a memorable day out.
Amanda Austin, centre director at Freshney Place said: “We know how important it is that children get to see Father Christmas and we really want to make this Christmas as special and memorable as possible following last year’s restrictions. The Elves will be on hand to help the children with their letter writing and crafting, whilst Santa will be busy organising all the gifts in time for Christmas and meeting everyone.”
In addition to the glittering decorations and the fabulous retail mix, visitors will also be kept amused throughout the festive period by a number of entertainers, not forgetting a repeat visit from the hugely popular Grinch character who will return to Freshney Place on 11th and 18th December to cause mayhem and mischief as he roams the centre!
For those preferring a calmer shopping experience, late night shopping will be on every Thursday until 8pm from 25 November to 16 December. In addition, during Christmas week, shops will be open until 8pm on the 20th, 21st ,22nd and 23rd December. Free parking will also be available on all late nights after 5pm providing the perfect incentive to buy those Christmas gifts under one roof.
The Elf Station will be open from 11am-3pm on all Saturdays and Sundays from 27 November up to and including 19 December and is free of charge.

For more info and to let us know you’re coming visit our Facebook event here: https://fb.me/e/1z2NYG0RD

Freshney Place Shopping Centre is preparing to host three days of exiting free activities to entertain its visitors over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The weekend will provide family activities from Saturday 28^th to Monday 30^th August with live shows, musical performances and roaming acts, promising visitors some feel good fun as they enjoy their day out.

With the easing of Covid measures, the shopping centre is delighted to be reintroducing these popular activities and events.

On each of the three days, live music will be performed by Martin Clarridge and families can take part in a butterfly trail across the shopping centre.

To round off the bank holiday entertainment, on Monday 31^st August there will be a balloon modeller making sculpting inflatable creations for children and adults alike as well as a captivating magic show taking place regularly throughout the day. Majestic stilt walking butterflies will also roam the centre, available for photo opportunities.

Timings:

28th August
– Singer, Martin Clarridge 11am-3pm
– Butterfly Trail – pick up a trail form from our Customer Service Desk, near HMV.  Find all the butterflies in shop windows and return your completed form to the Customer Service Desk to receive a free gift.

29th August
– Singer, Martin Clarridge 11am-3pm
– Butterfly Trail – pick up a trail form from our Customer Service Desk, near HMV.  Find all the butterflies in shop windows and return your completed form to the Customer Service Desk to receive a free gift.

30th August
– Singer, Martin Clarridge 11am-3pm
– Butterfly Trail – pick up a trail form from our Customer Service Desk, near HMV.  Find all the butterflies in shop windows and return your completed form to the Customer Service Desk to receive a free gift.
– Magic Show 11am, 12pm, 1pm and 2pm
– Balloon Modeller 11am-3pm
– Stilt Walkers 11am, 12pm. 1pm and 2pm

Freshney Place has unveiled a new campaign ‘Moving Forward’ with the introduction of a series of butterfly themed installations.

The campaign, which will be live throughout 2021, uses the emerging butterfly to represent the journey of the centre and its role in the community, both over the last year and into the future as it moves towards re development.

An eye catching and colourful butterfly installation is suspended from the glazed atrium in Friargate Square, creates a stunning environment for visitors. A large 3D window display will also be dedicated to the campaign and will host hand crafted butterflies created by our local community.

Amanda Austin, centre director at Freshney Place Shopping Centre said: “Our new campaign, Moving Forward,  aims to harness the momentum being created by the new development plans and the role of the shopping centre within the community, as together we look towards a bright future.

“Of course we can’t ignore the challenges the pandemic has created which have been felt by all, but our sense of community has grown stronger and Freshney Place continues to serve the community with pride.”

The public are invited to add to the window display which is located on Flottergate, with their own butterfly creation. Butterfly templates can be collected from the Customer Service Desk, near HMV, colour in and decorate at home. Once finished, they can be returned to the Customer Service Desk, and will then be added to the window display for all to see.

Adding to the theme and to entertain families during the May half term, a butterfly trail will take place in the shopping centre from Saturday 29 May – Sunday 6 June. Families will be able to seek out the butterflies located in over 25 retailer’s windows and make a note of them on their trail sheet.  Once they have found them all they will be rewarded with a small gift. Trail sheets can be collected and returned to the Customer Service Desk, near HMV.

For more information click here.

Thank you so much to everyone who joined us this Sunday for a roarsome time at Freshney Place! Did you get to meet the Triceratops and baby dinosaurs? See if you can spot yourself!

(Video via YouTube)