When is Fakenham’s Christmas Tree festival?

It wouldn’t be Christmas in Fakenham without the Christmas Tree Festival in the parish church.

More than 50 charities will be hanging their baubles and trailing their tinsel on the trees which line the pews and adorn every corner of the church for the week-long pre-Christmas treat.

This year’s festival runs from Thursday, November 30 until December 7 and, now in its 17th year, everything is on schedule for it to be another success.

Each of the 56 charities will be decorating one tree to impress visitors enough to leave them a donation, and it is expected to raise hundreds of pounds for each good cause along with funds for the church itself through a Grand Raffle and tombola.

Church reader and festival committee member Elaine Burbidge said visitors to Fakenham were asking back in the summer when the event would be taking place.

“People do really look forward to it,” she said.

“We’ve got several schools booked to come and look round and a couple of large coach parties.”

However she said news that the height restrictions on the Highfield Road car park had been lifted came too late for the festival as coach companies did not have enough time to organise trips from long distances.

“Hopefully next year we will see many more visitors to Fakenham now the coaches have somewhere to park,” she said.

Every tree has again been donated by Fakenham Garden Centre and this year’s font display will be created by North Norfolk Riding for the Disabled.

The church will be open daily from 10am to 8pm Monday to Saturday and 12pm to 7.45pm on the Sunday with a non-communion festival service at 10.30am and Compline at 7.45pm.

If anyone wishes to volunteer for the experience they can come to the festival desk in the church on Thursdays between 11am and 12pm where team members will be on hand to sign you up.

Tea, coffee, homemade cakes and filled rolls are available every day throughout the festival.

Donations are welcome for the Grand Draw and tombola before the festival begins. Cake donations are also welcome.

For more information email fakenhamparishchurch@gmail.com (subject matter CTF), or call Alison on 01328 864685.

Christmas Services

In addition to the services during the festival there are some special Christmas services being held in Fakenham Parish Church. They are:

Sunday, December 10: Christingle Service –supporting The Children’s Society at 4pm.

Sunday, December 17: Candlelit Carol Service at 6.30pm

Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24: Crib Service at 4pm – the Christmas story with carols to sing and knitted figures to add to the crib. For children of all ages

Midnight Communion at 11.30pm.

Christmas Day, Monday, December 25: Holy Communion at 8am, Family Communion for Christmas Morning at 10.30am.