Oldham Set to Sparkle with Annual Christmas Light Switch-On

Oldham's Christmas lights will be turned on Saturday 15 November outside the Old Town Hall, and one local child will be picked to stand beside Father Christmas and press the button that sets the tree and fireworks alight.

The hour-long stage show, running 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm, packs in Fierce Dance, the Coliseum's 'A Christmas Fair', Anton Benson's Beauty and the Beast cast, Ollie & Millie, Rodney the Reindeer, 97-year-old fundraiser Frank Rothwell and, quietly, Father Christmas himself.

Bluey and Bingo will already be working the Market Hall from 2 pm, giving parents a reason to arrive early and drift among Nando's, Molino Lounge, Parliament Square Café and the rest of the town-centre pubs and restaurants before the crowds thicken.

Council car parks will waive the first three hours of fees, and every following Saturday until 13 December the streets will fill with bands, buskers and drop-in craft workshops from noon to 4 pm, an attempt to keep tills ringing in the independent stalls inside Tommyfield Market.

Parents who want their child in the draw for the switch-on have until midnight on Wednesday 12 November to complete the form at oldham.gov.uk/push_the_button; the winner will be pulled at random and announced before the weekend.