Dulverton by Starlight is a crowning jewel in Exmoor’s winter events calendar with plenty to keep the whole family busy with seasonal fun on Sunday 7 December from 2pm to 7pm.
Fireworks lighting up All Saints Church (image, Ali Pegrum)
Festive Shopping and Entertainment
The shops in this pretty moorland town will be open from lunchtime and the main Fore Street will be closed to traffic and filled with stalls selling local crafts, food and drink. There’ll be an indoor Christmas market in Dulverton’s iconic Town Hall and roaming entertainers will juggle, bubble and amuse you throughout the afternoon. You’ll meet Elf Off the Shelf, Mysterious Merlin, Captain Coconut, the West Somerset Morris Dancers, the Rackenford Rascals Brass Band and the Mid Devon Singers
Children can visit Father Christmas in his grotto in the Dulverton Heritage Centre and get their faces painted while they wait.
Carol singing with the Mid Devon Singers by Ali Pegrum
Carol Singing and Fireworks
Get fully into the festive spirit by joining in with singing your favourite carols around the huge Christmas tree in Bank Square, from 5.45pm, then watch the spectacular fireworks display as the sparkles burst over the roof of All Saints Church from 6.15pm.
FREE Parking
Dulverton Town Council will pay for FREE parking in the town’s car parks on the three Saturdays running up to Christmas – that’s 6, 13 and 20 December. PLUS Dulverton by Starlight will pay for FREE parking on Starlight Sunday 7 December.
Raffle Prizes and Sponsors
There are some AMAZING raffle prizes to win, donated by generous individuals and small businesses around Dulverton and the our grateful thanks to sponsors G C Stanbury, Remote Therapies, Woods Bar & Restaurant, Exmoor Distillery, Risdons Solicitors, Seddons Estate Agents, Westcars of Tiverton and The Tantivy.
Full details on the event, the day’s schedule, the list of stallholders, raffle prizes and entertainment can be found here.
The festival was the brain child of Dulverton’s Town Council Chair, Christine Dubery, who had gathered together a selection of some of the best local artisan producers. She said “We wanted to create a summer event to celebrate the extraordinary variety of quality local small independent craftspeople and producers that are often difficult to discover in a rural community. To have them all in one place in Dulverton was ideal and gave visitors on the day the chance to explore the town and its shops and eateries too.”
With free admission, festival goers enjoyed stalls selling home-produced meat, beer, cider, spirits, cakes, puddings, jams and pickles. Gifted craftspeople had stalls of clothing, homeware, leather goods, bags, gifts, pet products and more. Exmoor was fully represented with Exmoor Fudge, Exmoor Tea, the Exmoor Pizza Pod and who could resist a delicious Italian sausage roll from Exmoor Feasting or a beautifully blended Pina Colada from Exmoor Distillery? Live music kept feet tapping throughout the day.
Families made much of the sunshine by paddling in the River Barle under the iconic medieval bridge whilst devouring ploughman’s lunches from Selworthy Pantry and ice creams from Scrumdiddly Gelato. Local business YASU Therapies were offering reiki massage experience sessions in the shade beside the river.
It was great to see members of Dulverton’s Fire Brigade chatting to visitors outside the Fire Station opposite the festival, encouraging new volunteers to join their incredible team – with the occasional loud toot from the red fire engine!
