Advent Trail Lights Up Berwick’s Windows
This year windows around Berwick are lighting up with the timeless themes of Christmas: love, joy, fun, thankfulness and celebration.
Christmas 2020 is set to be different and probably quite challenging for many. The creation of Berwick’s very own real-time Advent calendar in windows around the town offers residents and visitors the opportunity to mark the days to Christmas in an entertaining and safe way.
Twenty-three shops, businesses, private houses – and even the Police Station – will host an Advent window. Each window will be ‘opened’ during December – one a day from Tuesday 1st December through to Wednesday 23rd. And there will be a touch of extra drama on Christmas Eve when the final window is opened.
Schools, churches, businesses, community groups and property owners will all be involved in the decoration and creation of the windows. The themes for the windows are inspired by Christmas songs and carols. Each window will have a visual link to Berwick in the design.
Window dressers have agreed to keep their displays in situ until the New Year – so there will be plenty of time to enjoy the full Advent Trail.
Children’s Competition
As well as enjoying the fun and spectacle of the windows, children can enter a competition to spot the Berwick link in each window. There’ll be prizes for winners in the age groups 3 to 7 years and 8 to 12 years. You can pick up an entry form from many of the participating retailers around town.
The Maltings’ Christmas Light Show
It’s been a tough year for the arts across the country and Berwick’s own wonderful arts centre The Maltings is no exception. The Maltings is presenting its own Christmas light projection on the Theatre buildings as part of the Advent Trail. The Maltings is also streaming last year’s sell-out Panto ‘Aladdin’ on youtube here and ‘Christmas with the Hobs’ (details here)
The Unveiling of the Advent Windows
| Date | Venue | Theme | Artists | |
| December 1st | Jennie’s Wool Studio, Bridge St. | ‘Winter Wonderland’ | Host | |
| December 2nd | Foxton’s Wine Bar, Hyde Hill | ‘Away in a Manger’ | Holy Trinity School | |
| December 3rd | Robertson’s, West St. | ‘Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer’ | Tweedmouth West School | |
| December 4th | Longbones, Walkergate | ‘God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen’ | Host | |
| December 5th | Thistle do Nicely, Walkergate | ‘Mary’s Boy Child’: | St Mary’s School | |
| December 6th | Berwick Community Trust, William Elder, Castlegate | ‘Good King Wenceslas’ | Methodist Church | |
| December 7th | Berwick Visitor Centre, Walkergate | ‘We Three Kings’ | Host | |
| December 8th | Castlegate Pharmacy | ‘I Saw Three Ships’ | Host | |
| December 9th | Woolmarket Antiques | ‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’ | Host | |
| December 10th | Geek Hut, Guildhall Alley | ‘Let it Snow’ | Spittal First School | |
| December 11th | Lime Shoe Company, Marygate | ‘Little Donkey’ | Host | |
| December 12th | Under the Clock Cafe, Guildhall Alley | ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’ | Host | |
| December 13th | 1 Castlegate | ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ | Host | |
| December 14th | Pictorial Photography, Quayside | ‘Ding, Dong Merrily on High’ | Host | |
| December 15th | Greaves West & Ayre, Walkergate | ‘Jingle Bells’ | Host | |
| December 16th | Gemini Jewellers, Marygate | ‘It Came Upon a Midnight Clear’ | Host | |
| December 17th | 1 Greenside Ave | Host | ||
| December 18th | Police Station, Church St. | ‘Silent Night’ | Holy Trinity School | |
| December 19th | Edwin Thompson, Hyde Hill | ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ | The Camera Club | |
| December 20th | Playtime, Marygate | ‘Santa Clause is coming to Town’ | Host | |
| December 21st | Newcastle Building Society, Hyde Hill | ‘Little Drummer Boy’ | Host | |
| December 22nd | SpecSavers, Marygate | ‘We wish you a Merry Christmas!’ | Host | |
| December 23rd | Baptist Church, Golden Square. | ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ | Host | |
| December 24th | Parade Car Park | ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ | Host |
The organisers and supporters – thank yous!
The small group which has organised the project would like to say a big ‘Thank you!’ to all who have helped and supported this project: to those who have lent their windows; to those who have agreed to help decorate windows; to Stephen Scott and The Chamber of Trade; to all in the Tourist Information Centre; and to those involved in the Welcome Visitor Project. Without all this support the Advent Windows Trail would not have been possible.
Enjoy, celebrate and stay safe
Border Lines 