Saturday, December 2 will be a fun and sparkling day packed with things to interest all the family with activities and events taking place all around the town, as well as the opportunity to start your Christmas shopping.
The main events and timings
10:47am Father Christmas will arrive at Rye train station before heading to his grotto at Rye Baptist Church on Cinque Ports Street. Tickets to visit Father Christmas in his grotto are sold out.
11am horse and carriage rides begin around the town.
3pm there will be high street races. The high street will be closed to traffic from 9am to 7pm.
5:30pm the Christmas procession will leave the train station for a loop around the town (roads on the route will close for the duration of the procession including Station Approach, Cinque Ports Street and Tower Street).
6pm the procession will arrive at St Mary’s Church for the carol concert which starts at 6:15pm.
There are also plenty of other activities taking place all day:
Rye Arts and Crafts Fair will be taking place from 10am-4pm in community centre on Conduit Hill. There’ll be lots of amazing artists displaying their artwork and we’ve also got some incredible hot food too! The perfect opportunity to meet and support local artists, enjoy some hot food on a cold winter day and do some Christmas shopping for unique gifts!
Pop-up vintage shop at the Mint Arcade with clothes, handbags, accessories, vintage decor and antiques on sale from 11am – 5pm.
Christmas Fair at St Mary’s Church 10:30am – 3pm.
Lamb House – a 70s Christmas (11am – 4pm) step back into the 1970s for a nostalgia-filled spectacle inspired by The Fairy Doll a Christmas tale by former resident, Rumer Godden who lived in the house from 1967 – 1974. There will be activities taking place all weekend including an art project creating wax paper stained glass panels for the visitor reception window display; Saturday storybook hours for a reading of Rumer Godden’s The Fairy Doll (noon – 1pm and 2pm – 3pm) as well as The Fairy Doll trail.
Music all around the town
Rye Town Hall
11am – noon Ragati String Band
noon – 1pm The September Project
1pm – 2pm Customized
2pm – 3pm The Other Band
3pm – 4pm Rock Choir
Rye Retreat
11am – 12pm George and Mandi – Side by Side
12pm – 1pm Sam Brothers
1pm – 2pm Sambalanco
2pm – 3pm The Fieldstone Boys
3pm – 4pm Danny Lloyd – Hybrid Kid
Knoops
11am – noon Nelson King
noon – 1pm Blythe Spirits
1pm – 2pm Opera-Lele
2pm – 3pm Rye Ukulele Experiment
3pm – 4pm Ryebellion
The Crown Inn – Martin Blackman Band 6pm – 9pm
A Christmas Cracker – Pulled again Kick off your Christmas with this fab, fun, uplifting Christmas show! Saturday, December 2 7:45pm and Sunday, December 3 at 4pm. Festive songs from Sally, lovely Christmas readings and poems from Martin Wimbush, and lots more besides. Tickets £12 (cash only) from Grammar School Records. Profits in aid of Rye Community Centre. Musical direction by Malcolm Newton with guests on violin Nuri Köseoğlu.
For full details see Christmas in Rye Festival 2023 and the Rye Christmas Festival.
Image Credits: Christmas in Rye .