Christmas spirit is alive and well

Clonakilty Chamber of Commerce is calling on business owners to make Christmas 2020 extra special no matter what the Covid-19 restrictions are.

The pandemic has been an extremely uncertain time for retailers across the country, and the traditional ‘Clon Christmas’ will need to be adapted.

However Chamber chair Orla O’Donovan said: ‘We are looking at a number of ways to brighten up our town for Christmas which will provide the seasonal cheer no matter what Covid-19 restrictions are in place over this period.’ 

She added: ‘It is proving to be a really difficult time for our retailers, those in the hospitality trade and not forgetting our shoppers who love to stroll around Clon during the festive season.’ 

The Chamber is asking all the shop owners in the town to make a special effort to dress their windows in a traditional Christmas theme, and to keep their fronts lit up until 10pm nightly.

‘We have been in contact with Cork County Council and we expect the Christmas lights to be switched on, on Saturday November 14th,’ said Orla.

‘To coincide with the Christmas lights, there will be various competitions such as painting, spot the elf and much more running alongside the window displays, with special category prizes to be won.

‘To promote our Christmas shop lights, we are commissioning a videographer to make a video of the town’s Christmas shop fronts which we expect will prove very popular with all our online friends and family,’ Orla said

‘The filming of the video will be completed by November 20th and anyone who would like to be included in the video must have their windows dressed by that date. Please note we will have no editorial control over what shops are featured in the video.’

There will also be a special Santa post box in Kennedy Gardens for all those letters to the North Pole, and the Model Railway Village Choo Choo will be chugging around town on the weekends from December 5th until, December 20th.

‘Most importantly we want everyone to think local, shop local, spend local and if stuck for a present don’t forget the Clonakilty Vouchers,’ Orla said. 

• For updates see the Clonakilty Christmas Express Facebook page.