Wynterfest returns to Wymondham on Sunday 6 December 2026 with a Father Christmas parade, a grotto and a fun fair. Roads close, times still to come.

Wynterfest returns to Wymondham town centre on Sunday 6 December 2026, run for the first time by a new organising group and stripped of the lights switch-on that used to sit inside it.

The date and the shape of the day came from Together For Wymondham on 5 September 2026, in an article by its chair, Tracy Kenny. Everything below is what has actually been published. A good deal has not been.

The quick answer

  • Sunday 6 December 2026, Wymondham town centre. No times published yet.
  • Roads will close. No order had been advertised by Norfolk County Council on 5 September.
  • Confirmed so far: a Father Christmas parade, a grotto hosted by Money Properties, a fun fair, and music on stage.
  • One act is booked: the band World Without End.
  • Council car parks are free all day on a Sunday, which removes the usual parking problem.
  • The lights switch-on is not part of it this year. That is on Thursday 26 November.

What is confirmed

Kenny’s announcement is short and specific. On Sunday 6 December, she wrote, Wymondham “will put on the all-new full festival, complete with the traditional arrival of Father Christmas in a parade, a grotto hosted by Money Properties, a fun fair, and music on stage”, with “stalls, music, food, shopping and entertainment for all the family”. Businesses, pubs and cafes open for the day.

The only performer named so far is the band World Without End, described as “already booked”.

Wymondham Lions confirm the road closures independently. In his 2 August account of the club’s Christmas plans, John Wilde described Santa returning to the Heritage Museum grottoes and then appearing again “on Sunday 6th December, when the roads are closed for Wynterfest”, calling it “a major event” and thanking “Money Properties for the grotto space, the Business Group for their support and the Town Council for support and assistance in road closures”.

Who is running it now

Together For Wymondham, which Kenny describes as “an alliance of businesses, not-for-profit organisations, and the town council all working together to bring the festival to the people of Wymondham”. She is the group’s chair.

That is a change. Wynterfest has previously been run by the Town Team and by a volunteer group under the Wymondham Business Group and Wymondham Lions banner. Kenny credits the previous organisers: “We’re really thankful to those who have led the festival in the past, and their generosity in sharing their learning with us.”

Businesses that want to take part or sponsor the day are asked to email togetherforwymondham@gmail.com.

What is not published yet

This is the honest gap, five weeks before the tickets and posters usually appear:

  • Start and finish times. Past editions have run roughly midday to 5pm, but 2026 has no published hours.
  • The road closure order. Norfolk County Council advertises event closures on its events temporary traffic orders page, and on 5 September there was nothing for Wymondham on it. Sheringham’s 27 November switch-on order was already listed, so the county is publishing this season’s orders.
  • Bus diversions. When Wynterfest ran on 26 November 2023, First Bus told passengers that the Wymondham Cross stop would not be served between 09:00 and 16:00 on the Turquoise 13 and Green 14A, with services using the Avenue Road and The Chestnuts stops instead and waiting there until their booked departure times. Nothing has been issued for 2026.
  • The parade route and Santa’s arrival time.
  • The stall list, the fun fair operator and any park and ride. A free park and ride ran in 2022 from spaces on Copper Smith Way with a vintage bus to Fairland Green, on a suggested £1 per family fuel donation. It has not been announced for this year.

Parking on the day

Sunday is the easy day for this in Wymondham. South Norfolk’s car park charges apply 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday only, so all four council car parks are free all day on 6 December. Between them they hold 249 spaces: Market Street 57 plus eight electric vehicle bays, Back Lane 51, Cemetery Lane 90 and Town Green 51.

You should still expect the central ones to fill, and to be inside whatever road closure is eventually advertised. Cemetery Lane is the largest and sits a short walk from the Market Place. Full tariffs, disabled bay counts and the Check In Check Out trap are on our parking page, and anything happening on the roads that week will be on our roadworks and travel page.

The lights are a separate night now

If you are used to arriving at Wynterfest for the countdown, this is the change to know about. The lights go on at 4pm on Thursday 26 November, ten days earlier, as a smaller after-school event around the Market Cross. Kenny’s stated reason is “so that visitors and residents can enjoy the light display in the town for longer”. Full detail is on our Christmas lights switch-on page.

For the rest of the town’s winter, our things to do page covers the Friday market, the third-Saturday farmers’ market and the abbey.

Sources

All checked on 5 September 2026.