An animatronic polar bear, mass karaoke, Christmas characters and meet and greets with TV favourites will all be included in Southampton's four-day Countdown to Christmas event, which takes place next week.
The full programme for the city's Christmas lights switch on and launch of its Christmas market is now available.
Youngsters will be thrilled by the addition of favourite TV characters Bluey & Bingo, Chase from Paw Patrol and Hey Duggee.
READ MORE: Southampton Film Week: Full listings, dates and times
It gets underway with the big Christmas lights switch on on Thursday (November 16) with Christopher Biggins, star of Mayflower Theatre panto Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and continues into the weekend with a host of free festive activities.
Expect to see Christmas characters such as the Frost Dragon, Singing Living Statue and the Christmas Carriage. The mass-karaoke sensation Massaoke will also be in full swing from 6pm on the mainstage, so get ready to belt out those Christmas classics.
The popular Christmas market will also open on Thursday and continue until January 2.
Across the four days there will be a host of entertainment and performances for families.
On Friday, catch live music back on the Bargate mainstage or head on down to Oxford Street for the Christmas Mariachi experience from 5pm.
There’s family-friendly fun on Saturday when little ones have the chance to meet Hey Duggee and Bluey & Bingo in the Marlands Shopping Centre. The following day, Hey Duggee returns with Chase from Paw Patrol. The meet and greets are free, but tickets need to be secured in advance. Hey Duggee will also be appearing on the Bargate Mainstage over the weekend.
There’s more fun to be had at Westquay Shopping Centre on Sunday where there will be three incredible shows from 1pm featuring Bjorn, the amazing life-sized animatronic Polar Bear from the Arctic.
Live and local music will be filling the streets across the weekend. Enjoy performances from, The Henrys, Hannah Williams (The Voice Finalist), Saints Brass Band, Charley Stride, Kieron Cox, Company B and many more.
In case that isn’t enough, don't forget to stop by Southampton City Art Gallery on Saturday for ‘Gonks at the Gallery’, a free Christmas family craft activity between 10.30am and 3.30pm.
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