Stockton Sparkles: Everything you need to know about town's Christmas events

John Rogan-GAZ

26 November 2024 at 8:40 am·5-min read

Feel the Christmas spirit with the welcome return of the magical Stockton Sparkles festival!

The ever popular winter event promises to bring some Christmas cheer for all the family over two weekends, and celebrations get underway with the Christmas lights switch-on in Stockton town centre on Thursday this week. Yule be sorry to miss any of it, so here’s everything you need to know to enjoy all the festive fun!

The countdown to Christmas begins with a launch night on November 28, packed full of entertainment, including the annual Christmas lights switch-on. But there’s so much more on offer this year and other festival highlights include a free Victorian Christmas Fair, Sparkles Christmas Market, Stories with Santa and festive singalongs, plus seasonal crafting, delicious food and drink, and face painting guaranteed to delight all the family! The stunning Lantern Parade will also be back to brighten up a Sunday night.

What’s happening on launch night?

For one night only, Stockton’s famous Santa on Wheels bus will be rolling in to town to start our Sparkles Christmas Lights switch-on, before he returns on 30 November and 1 December for a very special Stories with Santa. Stockton High Street will come alive for Sparkles launch night, with entertainment from 5pm and the moment everyone has been waiting for - the Christmas light switch-on!

Hosted by BBC Tees presenter Rachel Teate families can enjoy heaps of entertainment both on and off stage from Creature Feature, Markmark Productions, Poppins Presents, and A Bird in the Hand Theatre.

Expect music, magic, merriment, and an aerial hoop performance alongside Func on the Rocks, our stage house band. The Deputy Mayor of Stockton, Cllr Stephen Richardson, will switch the lights on at 6.30pm, with Walkabout Street Theatre continuing until 7pm.

Enjoy Stories with Santa!

Join Santa as he parks his Santa on Wheels Bus in the town centre for a special Stories with Santa. You can find Santa on Stockton High Street on Saturday 30 November and Sunday, December 1 from 12pm to 5pm for free stories and festive singalongs, plus seasonal crafting, tasty food and drink, and face painting in our festive marquee! There will be BSL interpretation of stories and songs on the Saturday.

All the fun of the Victorian Fair

Ride the 50-foot Ferris wheel, carousel and more, all for free, at the fantastic Victorian Fair which will be on the High Street on Friday and Saturday, 6 & 7 December, from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday 8 December from 11am to 5pm. This year the Victorian Fair has moved to the Sparkles Christmas Market weekend so people can enjoy the fair and get some lovely things to eat and drink while shopping for Christmas gifts too!

Find that special gift at Sparkles Christmas Market

The three-day Christmas Market runs from Friday, December 6 until Sunday December 8 on Stockton High Street, offering tasty treats and festive goodies from local artists, makers and traders, all housed in traditional winter wonderland wooden cabins. The market is open from 10am to 6pm on Friday and Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sunday.

The Lantern Parade!

Stockton's annual Illuminated Lantern Parade will bring the festive cheer when it returns to the High Street on Sunday December 8. Hundreds of school children and community groups will dazzle their way along the High Street from 4pm, sporting a glittering array of community created lanterns, supported by street theatre and atmospheric festive music.

Councillor Steve Nelson, Stockton Council ’s Cabinet Member for Health, Leisure and Culture, said: “The welcome return of our much-loved winter festival offers a wealth of fun festivities for all the family, and I’m sure both residents and visitors from further afield will turn out in force to enjoy themselves and help make this a magical Christmas to remember.

“Stockton Sparkles is one of our most popular events and it’ll be great to see the High Street come alive with Christmas spirit once again. There’s plenty to enjoy for young and old alike, so make sure you don’t miss any of it! Once Stockton Sparkles has got you into that Christmas spirit you can then look forward to Santa’s welcome return when he’ll be travelling around the Borough from Thursday 12 to Sunday 15 December for his annual Santa on Wheels – with more details to follow!”

Parking

There are over a thousand parking spaces in Stockton plus Wellington Square car park. The Shambles car park will be unavailable from 4pm to midnight from Tuesday November 26 until Saturday November 30, Tuesday December 3 and Wednesday December 4 and from Friday December 6 until Sunday December 8.

High Street Car Park North will also be unavailable from 6pm to midnight on Wednesday November 27 and Thursday November 28 and from Wednesday December 4 to Sunday December 8. For a full list of parking options click here.

Road closures and buses

Some road closures will also be in place, including the High Street, for launch night (Thursday November 28) and the Lantern Parade (Sunday December 8). A full list of road closures can be found here. This will also affect bus stops so visit the Connect Tees Valley website to help you find the best options for your journey.

Stockton's regular Wednesday, Friday and Saturday markets will still be on during Sparkles, but traders will temporarily relocate between Shambles car park and the Town Hall.

For full dates and times and to see everything Sparkles has to offer visit https://teesvalley-ca.gov.uk/visit/whats-on/events/stockton-sparkles/.

For the latest Stockton news direct to your inbox, go here to sign up to our free newsletter

Manchester Evening News
Mum falls to the floor and kids left in tears at Manchester Airport after TUI staff bombshell
Claire Page had been saving for the trip for a decade but wasn't allowed to board
Manchester Evening News
The 25p mince pies shoppers say are better than any box from Asda, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons, M&S, Tesco and Sainsbury's
Readers gave them so much praise, we had to see what all the fuss is about
The Telegraph
Five charts that show how Sadiq Khan has ruined London
Sir Sadiq Khan, as we may soon call him, is reportedly set to become the first to be knighted among the trio of men to have taken office as Mayor of London. There have been no such gongs for his predecessors Boris Johnson, who oversaw the 2012 Olympics and his eponymous bike hire scheme, or Ken Livingstone, who introduced the Oyster card and, rather more controversially, the Congestion Charge.
People
Kate Middleton Arrives at Her Christmas Carol Service Looking Like a Wrapped Holiday Gift
The Princess of Wales is hosting her fourth annual holiday service at Westminster Abbey
The Independent
Trio arrested after two kids locked in ‘bug-infested’ home found begging for help from broken window
The two boys, ages 4 and 5, had been locked inside the cockroach-infested, ‘filthy’ bedroom since 2023, police say
PA Media: UK News
Mother and daughter who ‘terrorised’ neighbours with campaign of abuse jailed
Susan Chen, 61, and her solicitor daughter Linda Lu, 35, were jailed for five-and-a-half years on Friday for their ‘malicious’ behaviour.
The Daily Beast
Cops Bust Notorious Hitwoman Known as ‘The Doll’
Police in Colombia have arrested a notorious alleged hitwoman nicknamed “The Doll” who is suspected of being involved in a string of killings, reportedly including one of her ex-boyfriends. The 23-year-old known to local authorities as La Muñeca, whose real name is Karen Julieth Ojeda Rodríguez, is considered one of the most feared women in the country and is accused of being the mastermind and perpetrator of several murders, according to El Espectador.
News and Star
I tried supermarket pigs in blankets and only one didn't achieve Christmas glory
I sampled pigs in blankets from a few supermarkets, including Aldi, Asda, Tesco and M&S, and the results were mostly decent
BuzzFeed
A Woman's Family Couldn't Believe She Had The Audacity To Offer Them Ramen Noodles For Christmas
"Kindly send the flavor of your choice, otherwise the flavor will be given at random."
The Telegraph
Watch: How Chinese ‘spy’ mother and daughter ‘terrorised’ neighbours
A former Chinese intelligence officer and her solicitor daughter “terrorised” their neighbours in a campaign of harassment by playing loud music on a loop and banging paint cans.
Wales Online
400 animals to be put down after complaints about noise
The local authority says the animal sanctuary does not have the right planning permission
CNN
Video of military police officer throwing man off bridge sparks anger in Brazil
A military police officer has been arrested in Brazil after a video emerged of him throwing a civilian over a bridge in Sao Paulo on Monday, sparking protests in the city.
Manchester Evening News
Police officer suffers 'most traumatic event of his life' after going up to man in van
The officer was heard to shout 'stop' at Kyle Woods and held his hand out before he ran him over
The Argus
Reverend's sadness as tree 'older than the church' toppled by Storm Darragh
A reverend has shared his sadness after a tree “older than the church itself” has brought down in high winds from Storm Darragh.
CNN
Oklahoma officer charged for slamming 71-year-old man to the ground, prosecutors say
Prosecutors charged an Oklahoma City police officer with felony assault on Thursday after he slammed a 71-year-old man to the ground, breaking his neck, following an argument over a traffic ticket.
The Argus
Man hands himself into police after renewed rape investigation
New CCTV footage has been released in an appeal to find a man who forced his way into a woman’s home and raped her.
The Telegraph
Tory peer stripped of CBE after derogatory social media comments about Sikhs and Pakistanis
A Conservative peer has been stripped of his CBE after making derogatory comments about Sikhs and Pakistanis on social media and bullying an Indian journalist.
The Independent
Mom who talked on the phone for 20 minutes as her 8-month-old fatally drowned gets jail time
Miller reportedly called her child’s paternal grandmother twice to tell her Asher drowned before she called 911
Sky News
Man, 42, killed by 'fighting dog' - as woman charged in east London
A 42-year-old man has died after being attacked by a dog in east London, police have said. Leanne McDonnell, 32, has been charged with owning a dog dangerously out of control causing injury resulting in death; failing in the duty, as a person responsible for an animal, to ensure its welfare; and having custody of a fighting dog. The dog that was involved in both incidents has been seized by police.
The Independent
Man who crushed abortion tablet into woman’s orange juice causing her to lose baby jailed
Stuart Worby had sexually assaulted the woman in order to give her the medication