Bristol’s SS Great Britain will unveil its 20ft Harbourside Christmas tree next week as part of a festive celebration. Locals can enjoy the huge spectacle on Brunel Square, just outside Brunel’s SS Great Britain, thanks to the SS Great Britain Trust, a group of Year 10 ‘Future Brunels‘ and local engineering company Renishaw.
The grand unveiling will take place on Tuesday, November 26, at 4.30pm with the Harbourside transformed into a festive Victorian scene. There will be falling snow, costumed characters, a choir, and even a traditional Father Christmas dressed in green robes.
Mr Brunel will ‘oversee proceedings’ and the free event promises to act as just a taste of what will be on offer at the Victorian Christmas Weekend in December. Taking place across December 7-8, the Victorian Christmas will not only allow guests to meet Santa, but also to take part in crafting and other activities, and enjoy performances by local choirs, as well as a two-course festive lunch if you fancy it.
The free event to see the light switch-on next week, will mark the start of the festive season in the SS Great Britain shop and Harbourside Kitchen, which will both be open until 6pm on the day. Anyone spending £30 or more in the shop will also receive a 15 per cent discount, organisers have confirmed.
The 20ft Christmas tree, which has been sponsored by Renishaw – who also support the charity’s STEM learning programmes – will have a contemporary engineering twist this year, with additional decorations in the form of 3D printed baubles created by some of the SS Great Britain Trust’s Future Brunels.
Twelve Year 10 students visited Renishaw’s state-of-the-art headquarters as part of a five-year STEM learning programme which aims to address inequality and barriers into engineering and STEM careers.