A little girl’s story of a magical Christmas in Bury St Edmunds is to be told on the screen this year to launch the town into the festive spirit on St Edmund’s Day (Friday November 20). The special video will be premiered at 7pm on the Our Bury St Edmunds Facebook page showing what makes the town unique at Christmas allowing those at home to look forward to shopping and celebrating when lock down is lifted.
Christmas lights will be switched on in the town centre at intervals after the film is aired for the first time – although because of the pandemic there will be no official switch on occasion. During the day businesses in and around the town will be displaying bunting and flags of St Edmund and those that have been able to open will be marking the day appropriately. Café and cocktail bar Moriarty’s has even developed a special take-away cocktail for St Edmund using locally produced ingredients including Heart of Suffolk Betty’s Gin.
Chief Executive of Our Bury St Edmunds Mark Cordell said: “When we knew we were not going to be able to hold our usual Switch On night the team at Our Bury St Edmunds wanted to do something more than just a virtual ceremony. When lock down was announced we also wanted to be sure we weren’t doing anything that might encourage people to gather in the town thinking there would be something to see as the lights went on. So they’ll be switched on in different parts of the town at intervals throughout the evening but in place of an event we’ve worked with an incredibly talented creative team to produce a film telling a story at Christmas – in a similar style to that used by one of the major department stores’ annual Christmas TV advert.”
The video, ‘A Bury Merry Christmas’ has been secretly filmed at locations around the town centre in the last few weeks, showing independent shops and larger brands as well as some of the town’s landmarks. It’s been produced and directed by Bury St Edmunds-based Allegro Creative Agency and was made possible thanks to financial support from Bury St Edmunds Town Council, which was happy to get involved. Town Mayor Cllr Peter Thompson commented: “The Town Council recognises what an important time of year the run up to Christmas is for our business community and after the challenges that 2020 has already brought we want to support this valuable project for the local economy and the residents of Bury St Edmunds.”
The aim of the film is to make Bury St Edmunds a talking point and destination to visit for Christmas shopping or celebrations when hospitality venues re-open. Mark Cordell added: “The town centre looks stunning at the moment both in real life and on the film. Shop windows have the same high standard of festive decorations as they always do and with the lights on too from Friday, we’re looking forward to making Bury the place to be in December.”
RWSfm will be counting down to the film premier on Friday night at 7pm on www.facebook.com/ourburystedmunds. For more information about the Bury Merry Christmas initiative visit www.ourburystedmunds.com.