Hamilton – November 5^th, 2020

The festive season is nearly upon us and the City of Hamilton has scheduled some holiday cheer as we ease into the jolly shopping season. Film goers and those eagerly awaiting a glimpse of Santa can count on the City to bring a bit of both.  Due to the current health climate the City has had to adapt the format of all its events in order to accommodate safety protocols and social distancing.

Over the next few weeks, the public can expect the City’s official Christmas tree to start to take shape in front of City Hall. In lieu of the City’s annual tree lighting ceremony, the public is invited to stop by City Hall on Friday, November 27^th from 7:00pm till 9:00pm for Rockin’ Around the City Tree to have pictures taken with Santa and the iconic City Hall Christmas tree.

The City encourages families to make a night of it and add a stop to a City restaurant for dinner or tackle some holiday shopping with a City retailer before heading to the tree where a professional photographer will be on hand to capture festive photos of families or individual portraits made readily available to take home as a special treat.  In the spirit of giving, on-site donations will be encouraged to charitable partner, Tomorrow’s Voices - Bermuda Autism Early Intervention Centre, which has been a longstanding collaborator of the annual tree lighting ceremony.

Senior Events and Marketing Coordinator at the City, Allison Tucker, said, “The Tree of Lights event has always been a highly anticipated evening as it is the official way that the City welcomes Christmas to Hamilton.

“While we can’t have the event continue in its usual format due to safety measures, we’re still able to offer a special experience for everyone, especially the kids.”

While Santa will have a prominent place in the family portraits, the City confirms that he’ll also be sufficiently social distanced.

The City is also excited to host a three-night Drive-In Holiday Pajama Jam, under the stars, on the top level of Bull’s Head Car Park, December 11^th – 13^th.   Each night guests will enjoy a drive-through photobooth, live entertainment, car ‘carol-oke’, prize giveaways and a double header of holiday films, all from the comfort of their vehicles.

Food and beverage vendors will be on-site with items available for purchase. Entry to the event is simple – attendees must present a receipt valued at $35.00 or higher from a City retailer or boutique, an initiative that the City hopes will help to drive foot traffic through the doors of the City ratepayers. This same model was used for entry at the Taste of Bermuda event in October and generated a stimulus of $40,000.00 for the City eateries.

Ms. Tucker added, “With such an amazing response to the monies spent for entry to Taste of Bermuda, we’re thrilled to be able to offer the same model to benefit the City’s retailers and boutiques. The holiday season will organically drive more shoppers into stores, but we hope this added incentive to spend will serve up an added boost for our stores. So, save those receipts, Bermuda, and we’ll see you at the movies.”

Families and those wanting to show off their favorite comfy holiday sleepwear are encouraged to wear pajamas, get comfortable, and take in the merriment of the festive season as they enjoy some holiday classics.

The City of Hamilton has submitted an application to Government to hold the drive-in event as it will fall into the ‘50+ person’ category for attendance.

For additional information, contact the City of Hamilton at events@cityhall.bm with any questions about either event or visit the City’s website at www.cityofhamilton.bm.