THE Twelve Days of Christmas will once again be celebrated in Winchester with a 'Live Advent Calendar' of festive events.

Following the success of last year's celebration Woolly Hat Fair has announced full details of its new series of events based on The Twelve Days of Christmas beginning on Saturday 3 December.

There will be twelve events throughout December, each in a different Winchester location and each inspired by one of the 'days' of Christmas. Events are free to attend and will take place at 5pm on Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 3 and 22 December. The citywide festival has been made possible in large part through new funding from Winchester City Council and support from headline sponsor Winchester BID.

Highlights include a drama taking place in various parts of Winchester Cathedral, ballet at City Mill, a pantomime cow relay race in The Brooks Shopping and an exuberant drumming finale

outside the Great Hall. In addition to the twelve professional theatre companies and performers taking part, each event will feature a community choir. There will also be a rendition of one of John Julius Norwich’s ‘thank you’ letters, written as if from the beleaguered recipient of all twelve gifts, performed by Winchester-born actor Hannah Timms.

Michelle Walker, Artistic Director of Hat Fair, said: “It’s fantastic that Winchester has welcomed back Woolly Hat Fair with open arms for another year. We’ve been bowled over by the enthusiastic support we’ve received from local businesses and community participants all wanting to get involved. We hope the programme offers something for everyone, from the sublime to the slightly ridiculous!”

The festival begins on Saturday 3 December at Winchester School Of Art with poems from the local community performed by Live Canon ensemble in a pop-up ‘orchard’ made from recycled trees. The Partridge In A Pear Tree event is sponsored by Stowe Family Law LLP. On Sunday 4 December Gobbledegook Theatre spread disruption and joy at the Great Hall with a musical about the relationship between two love birds. The Two Turtle Doves event is sponsored by Winchester Round Table.

Tuesday 6 December is the turn of three French hens. Winchester-based performers Platform 4 invite you to go to Bar End athletics track and cheer on some specimen poultry. Lycra and German electronica are involved. The event is sponsored by Chococo.

Blue Apple’s Special Assignment Company will take audiences on a bird spotting tour with a theatrical twist at Hillier Garden Centre on Thursday 8 December. The Four Calling Birds event is sponsored by Jude’s Ice Cream.

The Chesil Rectory sponsor and provide the venue for the Five Gold Rings event on Saturday 10 December. Seiriol Davies takes a briefly blindfolded audience by the hand and inducts them into a secretive society. On Sunday 11 December, top director and writer Polly Teale, inspired by the little known story of the ‘Winchester Geese’, gives voice to an outcast woman’s story and takes the audience into some rarely seen corners of Winchester Cathedral. The Six Geese A-Laying event is sponsored by Dutton Gregory.

English National Ballet star Lowri Shone is joined at City Mill by six young dancers for an event inspired by Swan Lake. Seven Swans A-Swimming on Tuesday 13 December is sponsored by Newbury Building Society.

On Thursday 15 December, The Brooks Shopping hosts a pantomime cow race in which the audience become the cows and the eight maids a-milking. An hilarious commentary will be provided by contemporary theatre outfit Stans Cafe.

Female fancy dress is obligatory for the event on Saturday 17 December, sponsored by The Stable. Hat Fair favourites Wet Picnic bring their anarchic humour to a disco for Nine Ladies Dancing at a time in a rather fancy garden shed outside the Colour Factory.

Ten lords will be leaping at Winchester Lido on Sunday 18 December and the audience can join in too. The event is sponsored by Trethowans with Oxygen Freejumping Southampton providing a giant Air Track. St Johns House is the venue for eleven pipers piping on Tuesday 20 December. The audience will join in using glass bottles tuned to different notes by being filled with different levels of water. No musical experience necessary. The event is sponsored by Dutton Gregory.

The grand finale of Woolly Hat Fair’s twelve Days Of Christmas is on Thursday 22 December outside the Great Hall when the Old Basing Corps Of Drums lead a choreographed drumming event, with possibly a couple of imposters making mischief among the ranks. The Twelve Drummers Drumming event is sponsored by Paris Smith.

Woolly Hat Fair is organized by Hat Fair, the UK’s longest running outdoor arts festival which takes place annually in Winchester during the first weekend in July. Full details of Woolly Hat Fair’s Twelve Days Of Christmas can be found at hatfair.co.uk/events/12-days-of-christmas