POURING rain couldn’t dampen the festive atmosphere in Farnham on Saturday as Father Christmas made his first official appearance at the Christmas lights switch-on in Gostrey Meadow.

Children visiting Santa in his grotto even received a small gift from him, while older shoppers and residents kept themselves warm with the mulled cider, hot food and sweet treats on sale.

The lights were switched on at 4.30pm by cast members from the pantomimes Aladdin at the Princes Hall, Aldershot and Jack and the Beanstalk at The Harlington, Fleet.

Music and dance kept the crowds entertained throughout the afternoon until early evening and included performances by Love2Groove, Farnham Music and Drama, Demeric School of Dance, Stagecoach, Showshack Dance and Theatre, Potters Gate Taiko, Starburst and The Dance Movement.

Children from Rowledge Primary School, All Hallows, St Peter’s, St Polycarp’s, Potters Gate and Highfield South Farnham also pleased the crowd with festive songs and music.

Pictured above: The big moment with Farnham mayor Mike Hodge performing the honours.

Jill Hargreaves, Farnham Town Council’s lead member for tourism and events said: “The Christmas lights switch-on was a highlight for many of us but it was particularly wonderful to see families and groups of friends enjoying the entertainment, refreshments and stalls.

“There was a funfair, a nativity with live animals, performances from schools, theatre groups and musicians plus face painting and a pop-up Christmas craft stall run by Farnham Maltings.

“The switch-on brought hundreds of people into the town and was sponsored by principal sponsor Specsavers Farnham and gold sponsors Personnel Selection and Aura Care Living.”

This year’s Christmas lighting scheme has been extended and now includes Hale and Heath End, Badshot Lea and Rowledge, as well as a new illuminated sleigh overlooking Gostrey Meadow on the roof of Wise&Co in Union Road.

Due to a delay to them being delivered, the new lights in Hale and Heath End had not been installed in time for the big switch-on on Saturday, but Farnham Town Council hopes they will arrive soon.

The deluge of rain and 2,000-plus visitors at the weekend also turned Gostrey Meadow into a mud-bath, but town clerk Iain Lynch expects the meadow to fully recover “sooner than you would think”.

He told The Herald: “Whenever you get a heavy downpour with 2,000 people in the meadow, it is inevitable that there is going to be some superficial damage. But it’s not the first time this has happened. It was much worse two years ago and on that occasion it had recovered by mid-December.

“We’re liaising with Glendale, Waverley’s contractor, and where there is damage caused by the event, we are obliged to fix it and we accept that responsibility.

“It’s a balance where we hold the lights switch on - we can either close roads in central Farnham, or we can hold an event in Gostrey Meadow. I think everyone who attended had a fantastic time and we hope people will understand the short-term nature of the problem.”

Mr Lynch paid tribute to the town council’s staff, who he said “did a fantastic job” clearing up the meadow in the pouring rain long after everyone had gone home.

But he also expressed frustration that after their efforts, somebody decided to empty the bins provided for the event by Veolia and scatter around a dozen bin bags across the meadow overnight. The mess was cleared the next day.