Carols & Choirs

Carols & Choirs is a free outdoor carol sing-a-long in Bournemouth Square, part of the Christmas in Bournemouth festive trail. It runs from 12 November to 3 January, and the whole thing brings together the Bournemouth Christmas Market, the festive trail and the open-air ice rink in one place. The sing-a-long itself is straightforward: people gather in the square to sing along with local choirs and carol singers, and the stage next to the Alpine Lodge hosts a programme of live entertainment throughout the season, from traditional carols to performances by community groups. More choirs are added to the calendar as Christmas approaches, and local choirs are invited to get in touch to perform.

The wider trail is a fair bit larger than just the singing. There are more than 40 market traders, light trails, a real Christmas Tree Walkway, a 300-tree Christmas Tree Maze, Santa's Workshop with Story Time with Santa, a Santa's Express train ride and the Big Wheel, plus the South Coast's largest outdoor ice rink. It's the kind of thing you can dip into for an hour or spend a whole afternoon in, with the sing-a-long as one part of a much bigger festive setup. The whole thing is free to join in with, and the trail runs right through the heart of the town from mid-November until early January.