Brightlingsea Christmas Tree Festival

At last the Festival is almost upon us and we have a wonderful weekend of Festive Fun ahead. The Festival is open to the Public from 10am to 6pm on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th December (last admission is 5.15pm). In addition a few tickets are still available from Spirals for the special Friday and Saturday night Concerts (click here for more details) and as usual the Festival will close with the traditional Christmas Carols Sing-Along on Sunday evening at 6pm which is open to all and free of charge.

Parking is very limited in the immediate vicinity of the church so please take advantage of the shuttle bus service which runs from Victoria Place (outside the Brewer’s pub) or use the Park & Ride which allows you to park free of charge in the Co-Op’s Samson’s Road car park and pick up the shuttle bus to and from the Church. If you are travelling to the festival from outside the area check out the travel options here.

For those who have entered trees please don’t forget that you should deliver your trees to the Festival this Thursday 12th December from 2pm to 8pm or Friday 13th December from 9am to noon. All trees must be collected again on Sunday after the Carol Concert until 7.45pm or Monday morning between 9am and 11.30am. Any trees not collected by noon on Monday will be donated to charity or disposed of.

We look forward to welcoming you all to the Festival and hope you will enjoy the wonderful display of individually hand crafted trees, our delicious home made refreshments and our well stocked pantry and gift shops where you will find a host of beautiful gifts and goodies.

Online entry for the 2019 Brightlingsea Christmas Tree Festival is now open and we invite everyone to take part!

Entry is open to individuals, groups, clubs, schools and businesses and there is no charge to enter a tree, so get those creative juices flowing and take part in one of the most wonderful Brightlingsea festive traditions.

Full details of how to enter are available on our Entries Page

The dates for the 2019 Brightlingsea Christmas Tree Festival are Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 December. Further details of the programme for this year’s event will be published shortly.

Brightlingsea Christmas Tree Festival benefits our whole community. For our visitors it is a wonderful festive experience enjoying the spectacle of the massed Christmas trees, our glorious gift shop and scrumptious larder, delicious home made refreshments, live music throughout the day, an opportunity to meet with friends old and new, and the truly unique atmosphere of our beloved All Saints’ Church at this very special time of year.

For those that create trees its an opportunity to let their imaginations run riot. Watching the joy on the faces of the children who contribute to school and group entries as they see their creations come to life in this beautiful setting is something very special. While for the adults its a chance to let their inner child run riot!

For those working behind the scenes, for the volunteers creating and service refreshments, for all the wonderful singers and musicians who entertain us, its a chance to give something back to our fantastic community.

But alongside the community element there is also a very real fundraising role for the festival.  Since it began in 2003 the festival has raised some £120,000 which has been used to support the maintenance and development of Brightlingsea’s historic churches, St James’ in the High Street and All Saints’ on the outskirts of town, which hosts the Christmas Tree Festival.

The Festival has been run under the auspices of the Friends of All Saints’ since the start and they are currently coordinating plans for a major restoration of All Saints’ historic tower and the construction of a purpose built toilet and catering facility at the church.  You can find out more about the work of the Friends in the article below:

From 10am the shuttle bus will be running between All Saints’, the Park & Ride car park at Coop Fiveways on Samsons Rd and from outside St James’s Church in the High Street. First pick up will be from St James’ each morning At 10am. 

If you are coming into Brightlingsea look out for the Park & Ride signs which will direct you to the car park. The post code for your sat nav is CO7 0RN
The bus makes a circuit approximately every 30 minutes from 10am and will finish at around 5.45pm.

Parking is very limited at the Church so please do use the Park & Ride.