2pm: Thornbury Christmas Lights Switch On
Thornbury High Street
The TCLA team are excited to announce the date of our annual switch-on. Following the success and positive feedback last year we will again be lighting up Thornbury on Saturday 15th November, promising a day full of fun, entertainment, and holiday spirit for the entire community.
The event will feature a festive market running from 2:00pm until 7:00pm. Visitors will have the chance to explore a variety of stalls offering seasonal goodies, handcrafted gifts, and delicious treats, making it the perfect opportunity to start your Christmas shopping early.
There will be a community market, funfair rides and live local entertainment available throughout the day, providing fun and excitement for all ages. The highlight of the day, the switch-on... Read more >>
The best way to contact us at TCLA about anything relating to the work we do or how to get involved, please contact us at or via our social media pages on Facebook or Instagram.
If not, please contact us using the details below.
Secretary: Gill Dunkley, Tel: 01454 281801 or email:
Publicity: Emma Jane Higgins, Tel: 07703 410884 or e-mail:
The photographs on this page are kindly supplied by RichMcD Photography.
The TCLA team are excited to announce the date of our annual switch-on. Following the success and positive feedback last year we will again be lighting up Thornbury on Saturday 15th November, promising a day full of fun, entertainment, and holiday spirit for the entire community.
The event will feature a festive market running from 2:00pm until 7:00pm. Visitors will have the chance to explore a variety of stalls offering seasonal goodies, handcrafted gifts, and delicious treats, making it the perfect opportunity to start your Christmas shopping early.
There will be a community market, funfair rides and live local entertainment available throughout the day, providing fun and excitement for all ages. The highlight of the day, the switch-on of Thornbury’s Christmas lights will be at 6:00pm by the Pump.
Join us in Thornbury on Saturday 15th November 2025, to celebrate the start of the festive season with a day of joy, community spirit, and Christmas cheer.
Thornbury's Christmas Lights switch on is not only a wonderful evening, it's also an opportunity for a local charity to benefit from a collection on the night.
The Albert Rogers Fun Fair also donates a proportion of their takings from the evening.
If you would like to nominate your charity to be the beneficiary this November please CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM.
Your charity should be local to Thornbury & the surrounding villages and be of benefit to those local communities.
Being the nominated charity comes with responsibilities: these are the provision of bucket collectors on the evening itself, plus securing the switch on celebrity.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Each one of the displays that TCLA display is made from scratch by our brilliant band of volunteers. We erect, service, maintain, take down and store the displays over the off-season and lovingly renew as required.
Without the volunteers of the Thornbury Christmas Lights Association this simply would not happen.
We do realise that a number of TCLA supporters are unable to offer any practical help with the lighting displays, but we are grateful to all and value your moral support. As a volunteer organisation we are funded by the support of the community.
To make a one-off donation please send a cheque direct to our Treasurer, Fred Macey or put your donation in one of the many collection boxes that can be found in many of the shops in Thornbury, who kindly support us.
Thornbury Christmas Lights Association was formed in 1991. Historically, Christmas lights displays had been provided since the 1960s by the then Thornbury Chamber of Trade.
When that body decided that it was no longer able to organise the annual High Street display, a group of volunteers came together to seek to rescue and continue what had already become a firm Thornbury tradition.
Over thirty years later TCLA is still run by volunteers with a number of the originals still among the ranks. Sadly, some are no longer with us, including Terry Press who worked tirelessly to keep the town’s Christmas lamps alight and chaired the association until his untimely death in 2007.
Throughout its history TCLA has continued to improve and extend the displays and the cooperation of the St Mary Centre management has ensured full coverage of the town. We have faced many challenges over the years, most recently in the face of the pandemic and restrictions on how we can run.
Although very much independent, the association could not carry on its work without the support of both Thornbury Town and South Gloucestershire Councils and also the many businesses, organisations and individuals who help in so many ways.
In 2013 local film-maker Catherine Dunn made a short film about our story - click here to see it on YouTube.
