Santa's Village to add to festive feel in Mullingar

Further details of the WinterFest experience in Mullingar were revealed at the formal launch last Thursday evening at Mullingar Skates.

The town Christmas lights had been switched on last Friday week, and the festive feel in the town will be enhanced further when the WinterFest Santa’s Village opens over two weekends – December 7-8 and December 14-15 at the Peace Park (also known as the Tranquility Garden) beside the library and the arts centre.

James Bourke, president, Mullingar Chamber, speaking at the official launch of WinterFest 2024 on Thursday, said the combined efforts that it involves “set out clearly that Mullingar is the place to be this festive season”.

“Santa’s Village will be the starting point for the Elf Trail, so after seeing Santa you can use the guided map to find the elves hiding throughout the main streets of Mullingar, and we will also have our WinterFest Colouring Competition, sponsored by Apache Mullingar.

“The idea of Santa’s Village is to drive people from the skating in the direction of the main streets – Mullingar has a wonderful history as a market town and we want visitors to stay and spend here.”

Explaining that there was free off street parking on the last two Fridays, and there are several more days before Christmas, James said that it is another support to main street retail. “The dates were selected by Mullingar Chamber with Westmeath County Council, and it is by design that the lights switch-on and free parking dates started in November – we want the message to be extremely clear from the outset: Mullingar is open for the festive business and we urge shoppers to support local.”

Mullingar WinterFest is a Mullingar Chamber brand whose overall purpose is an umbrella for all festive activity in the town and surrounding areas. “It is designed to attract people to stay, eat and spend in our town. WinterFest was the brainchild of former chamber president Tom Hyland (of Decotek),” said James.

He also thanked the various people and organisations who contribute to the running of WinterFest. “Well done to the Christmas Lights Committee on the work they have done and are continuing to do to decorate our town. It wouldn’t be possible without the support received from the Christmas Lights Fund, the town enhancement group and the local businesses.

“A special thanks goes to the National Science Park for their donation of large Christmas trees for each of the squares in the town, to be installed in the coming days.

“I’d like to commend MacDara and his Ireland Skates team for the lovely setup we have here for skating. The decorations are wonderful and create a lovely atmosphere. Thanks to the team here for hosting us tonight and providing the refreshments also.

“Getting Santa set up in Mullingar wouldn’t be possible without some special helpers – his elves – Mullingar Tidy Towns and Mullingar Arts Centre have been fantastic.

“Neither the skating here nor our WinterFest Santa’s Village would have been possible without the support of Westmeath County Council, and particularly the municipal district staff, and I’d like to acknowledge their contribution also.”

Other retail supports

James also outlined other work to support local shopping; including a festive retail video series for social media to showcase the variety of shops in the town and promote Mullingar as a festive retail destination; and the Chamber Vouchers, which reached €400,000 in total sales last year, including a Christmas shopping season peak.

“I come from a main street, family owned business, and I fully understand the issues facing retail at the moment, and at Mullingar Chamber we hope that all of these measures will support businesses in our town and drive overall footfall in to Mullingar.

“Other important activities in the area include Land of Lights at Belvedere and the panto at Mullingar Arts Centre, which is usually a sell out.” (See page 21.)

Cllr Bill Collentine also addressed the WinterFest launch event, and Deirdre O’Reilly, director of service at Westmeath County Council, spoke briefly to wish everyone a good evening on the ice, and a happy Christmas season.

Cllr Collentine said: “We have a fantastic location for the skating rink in the centre of the town, complete with public parking, which makes it easy for the local community and also visitors from surrounding towns and counties to join in the fun.

“The skating serves as a vital boost to local businesses and traders and is a wonderful way to get into the Christmas spirit, and I invite each of you to come out, lace up your skates, and make the most of this wonderful addition to Mullingar. Together, let us celebrate our community, support local businesses, and kick off the Christmas season in style. Thank you all, happy skating and happy Christmas.”

• Booking for events, including Santa’s Village is at winterfestmullingar.ie.