Winter Watch Parade

The Winter Watch Parade is back on Thursday 10 December, starting at Chester Town Hall on Northgate Street. It's a free evening parade, and if you've lived here a while, you'll know it's one of the city's oddest and most enduring Christmas traditions.

The whole thing goes back to the 1400s, when Chester's leaders handed the keys of the city to the City Watch — an early police force — after processing around the walls to make sure they were secure. That was followed by a Christmas banquet. The Council brought it back in the 1990s, and it's survived as a smaller evening parade held after dark among the Christmas lights, which sets it apart from the city's Midsummer Watch, which takes place in the afternoon.

The cast is a mix of medieval figures and seasonal characters. You'll see the Lord of Misrule, Victorian cooks, devils, dragons, angels, fire skeletons, ice queens, Jack Frost, the Tree of Life, and a giant Santa and Snowman. Leading the way is the Karamba Samba band, dressed as a ghost band. It's usually staged on the first two Thursdays in December, and on the second night it often joins the Saturnalia parade, which brings the Roman Deva Victrix 20th Legion back to the streets with flaming torches and a fire-breathing finale.

It starts at Chester Town Hall, Northgate Street, Chester CH1 2HJ, at 7 pm. Entry is free.