With the weather becoming chillier and thoughts turning to Christmas shopping, preparations are well underway for the Great Yarmouth Christmas Fayre.

The three-day extravaganza will attract thousands of families into the town centre to enjoy festive food, stalls and entertainment, between Friday, November 25 and Sunday, November 27.

The festivities will begin on the Friday at 10am, when councillor Malcolm Bird, the mayor of Great Yarmouth, will lead the official opening ceremony at the Minster, home to around 25 handcraft stalls over the weekend.

There will be a short performance from the Norwegian Lardal Kantori choir, who will also perform a full concert at the Minster on the Saturday evening. The entertainment will continue throughout the day with live musical performances by local schools.

At 7pm on the Friday, the Christmas lights switch-on and fireworks will take place. People are encouraged to turn up from about 5.30pm to enjoy the associated entertainment, including the judging of the first ever Christmas Fayre Pudding Competition.

So far there have been six competition entries, but people can still drop off their culinary pudding creations at the Town Hall by Thursday, November 24.

Over the three days of the fayre, there will be a wide range of special covered stalls in the Market Place, selling festive food, gifts and crafts, including toys, sweets, jewellery and chutneys.

In addition, Santa’s Roadtrain will run a free shuttle service between the Market Place and the Minster, where there will be further craft stalls.

The closing ceremony will take place on the Sunday, at 3.30pm, when Councillor Bird will lead a procession through the Market Place to the Minster, where there will be a further performance by the Lardal Kantori choir.

Councillor Barry Coleman, chairman of the economic development committee, said: “The Christmas Fayre is about boosting town centre footfall over the all-important festive period, by bringing some Christmas cheer to families.

“The historic Market Place, and indeed the wider town centre, is a great place to shop for gifts throughout the year. But the festive stalls at the fayre do further broaden the offer and the festive food and other attractions really add to the festive fun, helping to make Christmas shopping a relaxed, fun, family experience, rather than a last minute dash.”

The fayre runs from 10am to 8pm on the Friday, 9am to 4pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday. To give shoppers extra time to buy Christmas gifts, town centre shops will be open late from Wednesday, November 30 to Wednesday, December 21. Free family entertainment will be taking place on each Wednesday evening.

To book a trade stall in the marquee, complete the form at www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/christmasfayre