Photos by Stephen Lawrence of Snap It Now
On Thursday 13th December, stores throughout Brilliant Brighton stayed open for a very special late night shopping event, so that the city’s residents could enjoy picking up the last few (or very first!) gifts, in a relaxed and festive atmosphere.
As well as exclusive in-store offers, many businesses offered glasses of fizz and tempting treats to ensure shoppers got into the celebratory spirit, between 5-8pm.
Carols were performed throughout the Brilliant Brighton area; on Gardner Street (St Luke’s Church Choir), Kensington Gardens (Singing’s Cool), Western Road (Brighton Vox), in Meeting House Lane and Market Street (The Theatre Workshop), to add further ambience to the evening, while Silver Sounds Samba Band, and traditional games, such as reindeer hoopla and a festive coconut shy (free for all to play with) added a party vibe to East Street.
The Theatre Workshop in Meeting House Lane
Of course, no Christmas event would be complete without a visit from Father Christmas, so he spent the evening visiting streets and stores, for selfies with shoppers and also to take those important Christmas wish-lists back to the North Pole.
Speaking of dreamy must-haves, shoppers were inspired by party-perfect outfits and cosy Christmas wear by the festive flash mobs which took place across the city centre. These were organised by Brilliant Brighton’s personal shopper Jane Busby and hosted by BBC Sussex’s Allison Ferns, and included most-coveted items from stores such as Joy The Store, Rieker, The Cambridge Satchel Company, Phase Eight and Collectif.
Flash mob fashion show at Rieker Brighton
The event was also one of the last opportunities to enter the Brilliant Brighton & Brighton Bricks LEGO Minifigure Trail (which closes on Sunday 16th December).
To enter the competition to win a fantastic prize, simply collect a trail form from any of the 29 participating stores and then record every LEGO Minifigure spotted in each shop window. Then return the completed form to either Daisy Daisy (Gardner Street) or Sugardough (Market Street) by Sunday 16th December.
Father Christmas in Meeting House Lane
There’s £1000 worth of prizes (donated by the Brilliant Brighton Ambassadors) up for grabs, these are:
First prize: Hogwarts™ Great Hall LEGO set worth £89.99 PLUS £400 cash prize.
Second prize: Pirate Roller Coaster LEGO set worth £69.99 PLUS £200 cash prize.
Third prize: LEGO Large Creative Brick Box worth £39.99 PLUS £200 cash prize.
“Thank you to all of the shoppers who came along and enjoyed the evening” Gavin Stewart, CEO of Brilliant Brighton says. “It was fantastic to see people singing along with the choirs and performers, while they shopped, as well as playing with the traditional games and taking selfies with Father Christmas. We hope it helped tick off some of those Christmas presents on the to-buy list!”
“Thank you also to Legal & General for sponsoring this event, as well as the Brilliant Brighton Christmas lights, and helping to make the city – its businesses, residents and shoppers, get into the Christmas spirit!”
