There was a right royal opening for a Wyevale garden centre in Andover’s Christmas festivities last weekend.
Carnival prince and princess, Frazer Foley and Chloe Winterbone, along with their attendants, joined Santa to cut the ribbon to officially open his grotto at Wyevale Garden Centre on Saturday, 18 November.
The royal procession, including attendants Sophie Thomas and Lily Yates, and Father Christmas travelled to the Salisbury Road centre by horse and carriage before parading through the plant area to the grotto.
Carnival ambassador, Iris Andersen, also attended the festive event with the royal party, she said: “It was a magical afternoon.
“For Gary, the manager, and community champion, Paula, to organise what they did on the day for the community, it was brilliant and Santa’s grotto was absolutely fantastic.”
“It is a tremendous occasion for the carnival royals and the committee because it shows us working together with Wyevale as we have done for the last 11 years.”
The families of the carnival royals also joined in the seasonal fun with face painting, balloon modelling and a magician.
Santa Claus and Christmas festivities have taken centre stage in the garden centre market in recent days, with Squire’s having organised for Father Christmas to arrive at their stores in less traditional methods, such as in Lightning McQueen from Disney Pixar’s Cars and a double decker bus.
The Garden Centre Association has also announced its regional winners for Christmas displays in the last week. Bents notably won an award last week.
It’s a busy and profitable period for garden retailers, setting the stall for the year to come.
