Alresford ready for the festive season as Christmas trees go up

The trees were placed on buildings by volunteers from the Alresford Chamber of Commerce and the Alresford Pigs Association, with more than 180 trees in total being put up.

The trees require 2,700 bulbs, all of which are now LEDs following a grant from the New Alresford Town Council. They will stay up for approximately six weeks, before being taken down in the first weekend of January.

The trees were put up by volunteers (Image: Alresford Pigs Association)Each resident, business or organisation pays for their own tree, with all profits going to support local charitable causes and local events benefiting the community.

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Iain Smith, who helped with putting up the trees, said: “About 30 years the Alresford Chamber of Commerce initiated a project to make the town look festive to attract visitors to the town. 20 years ago, the project was taken over by the Alresford Pigs Association, which now runs the project on behalf of the Chamber.

The trees will stay up for six weeks, before being taken down in January (Image: Alresford Pigs Association)“There is a vast amount of preparation, but the main event is the trees going up with 35 to 40 volunteers from both organisations helping.

“Everyone involved loves the project as the residents and workers of Alresford who always comment about how attractive it makes the town feel. It really is a large community endeavour.”

The Alresford Pigs Association gives financial aid to those in need in the Alresford area. It raises money to do so by organising different events throughout the year, including the Alresford Duck Race, organising traffic control at the Watercress Festival and organising and performing the arrival of Father Christmas every December.