It\u2019s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Wheeler Place with City of Newcastle\u2019s striking 11-metre tree taking pride of place today ahead of a busy festive season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Community celebrations will officially kick off on Friday 27 November when Lord Mayor Gavin Morris joins Santa Claus for the lighting of the Christmas tree as part of a special evening that will feature live entertainment, a DJ spinning festive tunes and some bubble-blowing stilt-walking elves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event will be the first of four to be held in Wheeler Place on Friday evenings in the lead-up to Christmas, with each night including DIY Santa photos, festive performances by Newcastle\u2019s own award-winning Hunter Women of Note Chorus<\/em>, children’s craft activities, food vendors and the ever-popular pet \u2018pawtraits\u2019 with Santa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lord Mayor Gavin Morris said the family-friendly atmosphere is designed to help the community celebrate in the city’s cultural heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt a time when many families are struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, it\u2019s important we provide free, accessible Christmas experiences,\u201d Cr Morris said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese events in Wheeler Place will be inclusive and welcoming for all members of the community, including their pets.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wheeler Place will play host to another City of Newcastle tradition next month when One Song Sing returns on 21 December to lead a special community rendition of Paul Kelly’s \u201cHow to Make Gravy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Presented by the Civic Theatre on \u201cGravy Day\u201d, the hugely popular event has in the past seen more than 1,000 Novocastrians join together for a one-off public performance led by community music group The Sum of the Parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Registrations open for the fourth running of Newcastle\u2019s pop-up Christmas chorus on 18 November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The festive spirit will be on show in the civic precinct throughout the month of December with a variety of offerings for the whole family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ten Tenors will present A Not So Silent Night<\/em> on 12 December at the Civic Theatre, featuring a blend of beloved traditional carols and fresh contemporary favourites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On 14 December, British comedian Adam Kay will hit the stage at City Hall for his show, Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas<\/em>, a love letter to those who spend the most wonderful time of the year removing babies and baubles from the various places they get stuck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding to the party atmosphere of the season, Priscilla Queen of the Desert: The Musical<\/em> will take centre stage from 17 to 20 December, bringing glitter, glamour and an unforgettable celebration of music, friendship and fun to Newcastle\u2019s Christmas program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the countdown to the big day continues, Santa will make a flying visit to the Civic Theatre for two all-ages performances as part of The Greatest Christmas Show,<\/em> a two-hour event featuring world-class dancers, aerialists, singers and an illusionist who brings the season to life in a spectacular way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite his busy schedule, Saint Nick will also make appearances at Newcastle City Library and Wallsend Library on 8 and 11 December for a special holiday event complete with songs and stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both libraries and Newcastle Museum are also hosting Christmas Craft workshops for children on 8, 10 and 11 December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information head to Visit Newcastle<\/a>, Newcastle Libraries<\/a> and the Civic Theatre website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Wheeler Place with City of Newcastle\u2019s striking 11-metre tree taking pride of place today ahead of a busy festive season. Community celebrations will officially kick off on Friday 27 November when Lord Mayor Gavin Morris joins Santa Claus for the lighting of the Christmas tree as … Continue reading “Santa and his stilt-walking elves prepare to strut their stuff in Newcastle”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41509"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41510,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41509\/revisions\/41510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}