Gallery: Oakham's late-night shopping event attracts thousands of people
Oakham town centre came to life on Monday as thousands of people enjoyed the late-night Christmas shopping.
Live music and performances in High Street created a festive atmosphere as families flooded the streets to browse the stalls and shops.
Victoria Hall and Oakham Castle provided welcome respite from the chill in the air and the chance to indulge in more shopping from an extensive range of stall-holders.
Father Christmas set up his grotto in Knights Yard to meet children and take their last-minute Christmas requests.
Oakham town manager Carolyn Acton said: “The event was amazing and I loved every minute of it. It was great to see so many shops open late and all the stallholders seemed happy which makes it all worthwhile.”
Wildcats Theatre School was among those to entertain the crowds. Ten-year-old Arabella Grint, of Oakham, sang Let It Snow.
She said: “It was great to perform with Wildcats right where I live in front of my family and friends. I also got to do my first solo so that made the evening extra special for me, I had a great time.”
Wildcats owner Caz Dolby said: “Our students had an amazing time and really enjoyed the chance to sing into the microphone for their parents and families.”
Other performances came from Rutland primary schools and bands Funked Up and Manky Beds.
Oakham mayor Adam Lowe was among the crowds.
He said: “The event seemed to be very well supported. The primary schools were absolutely brilliant with some very talented children. It was also nice to see the traditional food stalls like you find in the German Christmas markets.”
Shawn Oliver, Maria Johnson, Aaron Weston, Vernon Moore, Sharon Minter and David Clark with the collection at Moores for the Rutland Foodbank (5925011)
Staff at Moores Estate Agents in High Street took the opportunity to hand over donations they have collected for the Rutland and Stamford foodbanks.
The company has been collecting donations at its offices in Oakham, Uppingham, Stamford, Melton and Grantham since November and also organised a raffle in aid of the Trussell Trust which runs the foodbanks.
Director Jenny Moore said: “The appeal was better supported than we could have hoped for so thank you to everyone who supported us.
“We are especially grateful to Hegarty and Co Solicitors for supporting us.”
It is currently unclear who will organise next year's Christmas event. The town manager says her personal business Carolyn Acton Events will host it because Oakham Town Partnership "doesn’t want to get involved in future events" but partnership chairman Christopher Clark says no decisions have been made.
He said: "The events will continue but at the moment we haven't had further discussions about our plans for next year."
