From the North-Pole to South-Wales; Penarth looks forward to welcoming Father Christmas and his reindeer for the Town's annual Christmas Lights switch-on!

On Sunday the 17th of November, make your way along Windsor Road and mark the Christmas countdown with a family friendly festive day out, beginning at 1.30 pm.

Father Christmas will be flicking the switch and illuminating the town at 6.30pm with a little help from Mayor Cllr Angela Thomas.

Expect to see an explosion of live music and performances from some of the best local talent: The Mark Jermin Stage School, The Scarletons, Curtis Lee, Evolution Dance, Shelley Norton Stage School, The Pepper Seeds and a quintessential yuletide performance from the Salvation Army Band.

There will also be fairground attractions for children and a variety of stalls and shops serving seasonal food and drink throughout the day.

Stalls signed up so far include:

• The Pudding Wagon

• Doughnutterie

• The Windsor Bar

• M Gill Amusements

The annual Christmas light switch on is a free event organised by Penarth Town Council in collaboration with Production 78 with support from the Vale of Glamorgan District Council.

Each of the Vale's four Town Centres are set sparkle this festive season thanks to additional funding from the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

The funding, awarded to each of the four Town Councils aims to support projects that provide an economic stimulus. High streets in the Vale and across the UK are facing increased challenges such as competition from online retailers and higher costs.

Christmas is a critical time in the retail industry, with evidence suggesting that up to 70 percent of trading is done in the run up to the festive season. There is pressure on our towns to attract footfall during this critical time, therefore the Council has decided to commit resources to make sure that the experience of shopping is a festive one.

The Vale of Glamorgan Councils' Regeneration Team worked with and is grateful for the support of each of the Town Councils to identify opportunities to invest this funding, with Christmas Lights coming out top of the list. Christmas lights are often rented, but this funding has allowed lights to be purchased and used in future years.

Lis Burnett, Cabinet member for Regeneration and Education said: "Our High Streets are facing unprecedented challenges and so supporting Christmas lights and events reaches far deeper than just making our retail areas pretty during the Christmas period.

''Supporting our traders by encouraging people to shop here and keep their Christmas spending within the Vale is vitally important as it helps to create and safeguard jobs for the local economy."

You can find more information about Penarth's Christmas event by clicking the red button below.