Perth Christmas events are set to get underway this weekend.
The lights will be switched-on - without fanfare - on Saturday afternoon.
But Perth and Kinross Council say that although the switch-on event is cancelled there are still activities planned for the city centre, from Santa’s Grotto to sparkling ice sculptures.
Santa has set up his free grotto at Horsecross Plaza which opens today (November 19) from 2-7pm.
On Saturdays and Sundays he will be joined by his reindeer.
The grotto will also be open on Saturday, November 20 from 12-8pm and Sunday, November 21 from 12-6pm.
Next weekend it will be open on Friday, November 26 from 2-7pm, November 27 from 12-8pm and on November 28 from 12-6pm.
Shimmering ice sculptures will be positioned in the city centre on November 20 and 21 as well as a fairground organ performance on both days.
On Saturday, November 20 there will be Christmas Ghost tours, Perth Pipe Band and walkabout characters.
On November 27 there will be silent discos at the recently revamped St Paul’s and get ready to don your Santa suit for the Santa 5k run on December 4.
Christmas workshops will take place in the run-up to Christmas and there will be bird of prey displays from Alba Falconry on November 27, December 4 and December 11.
All of these events are free to attend.
From Friday, December 10 the one-way route of the Christmas Wonderland event will will take place across the Norie Miller Walk in Perth city centre.
Tickets for this event - not run by PKC - can be purchased online and cannot be bought at the event itself.
Outside of Perth there will be markets in Crieff, Pitlochry and Kinross.
Perth and Kinross Council leader Murray Lyle said: “We are pleased to be able to offer a programme of events and bring a Christmas celebration to the city for 2021. While there will be no big Christmas Light Switch-on event this year again, we hope to bring people back to the city to enjoy the build up to Christmas and support the wonderful local businesses based in and around the city centre.
“The team have pulled together a diverse and exciting range of family-oriented events that we hope will appeal to everyone and help kick off the festive season.
“This year’s offering has been kept smaller than in previous years to ensure the safety and wellbeing of everyone. Our first priority is to maintain the high quality programme everyone associates with our normal Christmas Light Switch-on.
“We have a wide variety of events to help everyone get into the Christmas spirit and I look forward to events starting next month.”
The full calendar of events can be found on the Perth City Centre website https://www.perthcity.co.uk/section/perth-city-centre/perth-city-and-towns-events
For more information on the Christmas Wonderland at Perth Riverside or to book tickets, visit Christmas Wonderland™ | Official Website at perthchristmaswonderland.co.uk
