HUNDREDS of people gathered to see the amazing performance that paraded through Christchurch, celebrating the town's history.
This year Christchurch has done things differently and held its first-ever Yuletide festival on Saturday, November 26, to kick off the Christmas celebrations.
Families and residents came down and enjoyed a vibrant parade, festive markets, live entertainment and an epic Christmas light switch-on, in an event presented by Christchurch BID.
The Yuletide Festival began in the Saxon Square at 11am, before crowds were treated to a festive Carol Service outside the Christchurch Baptist Church at 3pm.
The Yuletide parade began at 5pm, and a theatrical procession took off from Church Street and travelled down the high street.
It featured Christchurch-based Gobbledegook and their entourage of more than 20 performers, as well as Mad4Dance, Highcliffe Charity Players, and Funky Little Choir, all performing as they move through the town.
The outstanding performance celebrated Christchurch's roots, bringing its history to life.
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Mandy Polkey, event manager said: "We have bought lots of new people into Christchurch and the atmosphere is amazing.
"This year is the first year with the Yuletide festival, we are looking back in time to our Saxon routes to where it was all green and two rivers met and the first settlers came.
"We are hoping to bring this all to life today in town with the King of Holly and the Queen of Ivy and we also have some fantastic community groups here, we have the Highcliffe players, Mad4Dance, the Christchurch Rugby team and some school children.
"It's amazing to see everyone come together and be back with a new theme.
"We had a beautiful choir service singing, in the rain, but the spirits were still high and lots of people were there enjoying the performance."
Jason, the creative director said: "Our objective is to celebrate the place and the history, we are going through from Saxon up until today and also celebrating Christianity.
"We want to be able to celebrate all the traditions that make Christchurch so special."
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