Kolkata Christmas Festival to begin from December 18

Soaking in the spirit of Yuletide, the city will celebrate the Kolkata Christmas Festival for a fortnight beginning December 18. The special feature this year will be a two-hour-long Christmas parade on December 20 at Park Street from 10 am, the organisers said on Sunday.

Various schools are being invited to take part in the parade. Like last year, vehicular traffic would be closed on Park Street on December 25 when as many as 40 food stalls will be set up all along Park Street to serve delicacies from various communities.

Stalls will also have cakes, decorations and other Christmas goodies. Some of the stalls will be run by charitable institutions. There will be live music performed by popular city bands playing Western music and Christmas music at Allen Garden.

To share the 'Spirit of Christmas' special choir performances will be held on the first few days of the festival which will end on January 2.

The Christmas theme lights will extend from St Paul's Cathedral to Park Street and go right down to Mullick Bazaar. The Kolkata Christmas Festival is being organised by the state tourism department in association with members of the Christian community and the Apeejay Surrendra Group.

“This year will be bigger, brighter with some exciting new features. It was the CM's idea to extend the lighting beyond Park Street for the first time,” MLA Michael Shane Calvert said.