Hundreds of thousands of dazzling lights will brighten Perth’s streets and malls as part of the City of Perth’s annual Christmas Lights Trail this week.
From Friday 19 November until 2 January, the well-loved festive event will be back again, with two illuminated trails to follow and 26 installations to discover across Central Perth and Northbridge.
Visitors will be encouraged to look out for installations including a rainbow Christmas tree, a giant snow dome, magical swans and a peacock.
Crowd favourites Christmas Projections at St Georges Cathedral, Council House Kangaroos (Mooditj Yongas) and the Constellation Tunnel presented by Lotterywest at Northbridge Piazza will return once again.
This year, the City of Perth also invited creative young minds from Perth Children’s Hospital and Trinity College to design their own Christmas decorations. Three winning creations have been turned into real-life streetlight decorations, making their debut at Council House.
Adding Christmas cheer, there will be roving entertainment every Friday and Saturday night until 18 December along the trail.
Visitors are encouraged to look out for Santa who will be spreading Christmas cheer every Friday night in the Murray Street Mall and every Sunday night at the front of Council House, before taking a rickshaw tour to Northbridge.
“We’re excited to see the city shine this Christmas with more than half a million Christmas lights and 500 individual decorations,” City of Perth Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas said.
“The City is the place to be this Christmas with plenty of events and activities for everyone. We can’t wait to welcome Western Australians into the city to experience the wonder of Christmas in the City of light.”
Minister for Housing and Local Government and Member for Perth John Carey said he was pleased the State Government could support the event through a Lotterywest grant.
“I have been a big supporter and long championed the Christmas Lights Trail in the Perth CBD, and it’s fantastic the McGowan Government has been able to support this year’s event with a $200,000 Lotterywest grant,” Mr Carey said.
“For so many of us, we look forward to this time of the year where we can be among family and friends, and I want to encourage as many people as possible to get into the city to enjoy the spectacular Christmas lights and installations on offer, as well as support local shops, restaurants and bars to help boost the local economy.”
The City of Perth is proud to have Lotterywest as a Major Supporter of the event, bringing the community the Constellation Tunnel in Northbridge Piazza. Thanks also to partners WA Museum Boola Bardip, Elizabeth Quay, RAC Arena, Kings Square, Yagan Square, Raine Square, Piccadilly Arcade, 140 and Brookfield Place.
The Christmas Lights Trail will feature on the Perth Trails app, which offers informative walking trails suitable for people of all ages.
During the festive season, the City of Perth will also host a variety of events including the Twilight Hawkers Market every Friday night, Perth Home Grown Markets every Sunday and Christmas Nativity plays on 18 and 19 December in Forrest Place. Returning to the City’s annual events program are crowd favourites the Alinta Energy Christmas Pageant and West Australian Symphony Orchestra’s Lotterywest Christmas Spectacular.
Across the entire festive season, the City of Perth will continue with current CPP parking offers including:
Three-hour free parking on weekends and public holidays at CPP Cultural Centre, Pier Street and His Majesty’s
$5 night-time parking at select car parks on weekdays and weekends and
$10 all-day parking at select car parks on weekdays only.
There will also be increased ACROD bays available at City events including Christmas Nativity and New Year’s Eve.
