Craft and chatter

Don’t miss this year’s hilarious, fun-filled family pantomime. Playing the dashing Prince Charming will be TV presenter, actor and Strictly winner Ore Oduba, while Coronation Street superstar Wendi Peters will play the Wicked Queen, with the hilarious and much-loved Bob Golding returning as our dame, Nurse Nellie. The Magnificent Seven will be lead by Sarge, played by Dean Whatton (Game Of Thrones).  One of Britain’s most treasured comedians (and Northampton’s very own), Alan Carr, will appear as the Magic Mirror!* Alan Carr’s video appearance is in aid of Neuroblastoma UK, a charity which Alan is a proud patron of. The show will be written by Paul Hendy and produced by the award‑winning Evolution, the same team behind last year’s smash-hit Jack And The Beanstalk and 2021’s brilliant Dick Whittington. With lavish sets, hilarious jokes and fun for the whole family, what’s not to love. And this year’s Panto is extra exciting because our brilliant Youth Theatre & Young Company Musicals group are taking to the stage alongside our stars as our Community Ensemble! Hi-ho, it’s off to panto you go! *Alan Carr will appear on screen in a pre-recorded video

We have teamed up with West Northamptonshire Council to stage an interactive Christmas song lyric trail around the town centre throughout December. Using the LoyalFree app, visitors to the town will be given a list of locations to visit where they need to answer questions and complete the lyrics from favourite Christmas songs. The LoyalFree app can be downloaded by visiting www.loyalfree.co.uk/download or by searching for ‘LoyalFree’ in your app store. The Christmas Song Lyric Trail is delivered by Northampton Town Centre BID and funded by West Northamptonshire Council.

Punk took the world by storm, leaving a lasting legacy that continues to inspire and provoke people today. The young people of Northamptonshire were as inspired by punk as the rest of the country - they formed bands, set up music and clothing stores and managed punk nights. This major exhibition follows the Punk: Rage & Revolution exhibition at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery and explores fashion, music, the local gig scene and much more.

People across Northampton are invited down to Northampton’s Market at Commercial Street to join in free ice-skating and curling this Christmas. Taking place on 9 and 10 December and 16 to 22 December between 10am and 4pm, people are advised to put on their skates and join in the festive fun. Northampton BID has kindly sponsored this year's curling lane event. West Northamptonshire Council is working with market traders to deliver a free events programme to offer something for everyone. Following the summer of fun throughout the summer holidays, we’re pleased to extend this throughout December. All skates and equipment are provided free of charge. To help support with access to the market’s temporary location at Commercial Street, WNC is working with Bounds to offer free journeys for the bus station to the market. Simply press a button at either location and a free taxi will be called to take you to or from the market. To find out more about the local produce, gifts and services on offer at the Northampton Market, visit Love Northampton Market on Facebook.

Northampton Town and County Art Society are delighted to be able to return to Northampton Museum and Art Gallery. The 106th Annual exhibition will showcase artworks from Members and Associate Members. This exhibition will also include a selection of Non-Members work, allowing visitors a chance to see the wide variety of styles and subjects that such a group show offers. Free entry

Alison Goodyear, Michelle Keegan and Michael Evans are artists engaged in a collective exploration of ideas and enquiries pertaining to materiality and a diverse array of technological processes within our respective disciplines of painting, printmaking, and virtual reality. The collaborative works embody the synergy between the mechanical, the digital, and the handcrafted.

Sessions to introduce rhymes and songs to your child to encourage interaction and develop communication skills. Please note that the Bounce and Rhyme sessions will be run on a first-come, first-serve basis on the day and it will not be possible to book in advance. Parents and Carers can collect a ticket from the front desk on the Friday morning at 10am. This event is for under 1s and non-walkers only.

Touching, funny and utterly original, Freckle Productions’ delightful adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Stick Man is coming to Northampton for Christmas 2023! What starts off as a morning jog becomes quite the misadventure for Stick Man: a dog wants to play fetch with him, a swan builds a nest with him, and he even ends up on a fire! How will Stick Man ever get back to the family tree? This award-winning production, from the team behind Zog and Zog And The Flying Doctors, features a trio of top actors and is packed full of puppetry, songs, live music and funky moves.

Touching, funny and utterly original, Freckle Productions’ delightful adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Stick Man is coming to Northampton for Christmas 2023! What starts off as a morning jog becomes quite the misadventure for Stick Man: a dog wants to play fetch with him, a swan builds a nest with him, and he even ends up on a fire! How will Stick Man ever get back to the family tree? This award-winning production, from the team behind Zog and Zog And The Flying Doctors, features a trio of top actors and is packed full of puppetry, songs, live music and funky moves.