The Christmas Lights in Thornton Le Dale are a spectacular display put together by a dedicated group of volunteers. This year the team have worked hard under difficult circumstances to ensure our village and the many residents from surrounding villages who pass through it have our darkest winter days cheered by the display. Unfortunately this year due to the covid pandemic their major fund raising activity “Switch on” night has had to be cancelled and as the Christmas Lighst are entirely funded by individual donations, this leaves them financially compromised.

The display under normal circumstances costs £8,000 per annum to run, this does not include replacement lights or upgrades to the display or the extra costs due to the pandemic. The lights are always important to the village and particularly under the current circumstance. This year they have been switched on early to lift the mood of residents and at a time when we see a significant rise in mental health problems we think this has been worth the extra expendature.

In the pantomime season when the country seems to be saying “Oh no you can‘t” Thornton Le Dale have said “Oh yes we can” and the show will go on! The whole community have pulled together to put on a virtual ”switch on” event, you can see the lights going up, the school Christmas card competition, the Ryedale Lions special Santa visit all accompanied by a virtual community choir and a childrens virtual choir helped out by the brownies and residents at the local care home.

Please join us for a big helping of Thornton Le Dale Christmas cheer - and if you are able to support us it would be very much appreciated - Thank you.