Wassail at Victoria Park

January may be cold and glum but we've got a free event that will fire it up. Join us at Victoria Park on Saturday 24 January from 1.30pm to 6pm for an afternoon full of festive fun with our Wassail and yowl away the gloom.

Here’s the timetable:

1.30pm - 2.00pm -

Live music from Bob Kenward

2.00pm - 2.30pm -

Live music from Ashford Folk

2.30pm - 3.00pm -

Drumming workshop for children

3.00pm - 3.30pm - Performance from East Kent Morris dancers

3.30pm - 4.00pm -

Live music from Nick Lawrence

4.00pm - 4.30pm - Performance from Canterbury Hoodeners

4.30pm - 5.00pm -

Live music from Bob Kenward

5.00pm - 5.30pm -

Live music from Ashford Folk

5.30pm - 6.00pm -

Torch-lit procession and ceremony led by Richard Wheeler

There’ll also be:

· Locally made crafts for sale from Made in Ashford

· Flora the Giant (weather permitting)

· Crafts and wooden games

· BBQ and refreshments available to purchase from Harper’s Café and Turners Cider

A Wassail is a traditional English event and particularly special within Kent due to its fruit growing history. At Wassail, people thank the orchard trees and welcome good spirits in, to ensure a bountiful harvest from their fruiting trees in the next season. They also scare away the bad spirits by making lots of noise!

Parking at the car park and surrounding roads will be very limited so please take public transport or walk if you can (there are good bus and cycle routes with cycle racks located in the park). There is a nearby car park on Victoria Road, which is just a five-minute stroll away but this is not free so visitors will need to pay.

Wrap up warm and wear sensible shoes and if you’d like to join in with the yowl then please bring something like a pot and a wooden spoon to bang!