Thanks DOCA: Devizes Winter Festival, this Autumn!

Photographs by Simon Folkard

Astronomical winter starts on the 22nd December, y’ know, but the Met Office uses a meteorological definition of seasons, making the first day of winter this coming Friday, the 1st of December. Either way I think we jinxed it, having a Winter Festival this November weekend in Devizes, as the climate sought to take heed and plummet the temperature to a very wintery -4; oh, my poor frosted milk-bottle collecting fingies!

Even I, one who would hibernate given half a chance, donned my beanie and thermal long Johns to turn out for this year’s lantern parade, light switching on, market thingy in the Market Place of ol’ D-town, and what a smashing evening was had by the multitudes who gathered there.

Yeah, I know, I cry for diversity in our local entertainment and encourage those who challenge the norms, but on some, particularly this occasion, things are best left to tradition. An event systematically built over the years in which little really changes because it doesn’t need to, Winter Festival in Devizes is that family occasion which screams Christmas to you, with the clout of Noddy Holder annunciating through a megaphone. Like it or not, it signifies Yuletide better than a billion shopping trips to B&M for cheap plastic decorations; even I, Uncle Scrooge, cannot deny it’s that season once more!

Bar humbug, DOCA, and the many small businesses knocked it out of the park, or should I say Market Place once again, in providing a little taste of winter wonderland. With sleigh bells ringing, we were listening, in the Brittox snow was very nearly glistening, a beautiful sight, we were happy last night. Not that I’m able to scribe a review in a similar manner to a gig. It is what it is, what it is brings a smile to every face. and you cannot argue with smiles. See this then more as documentation of the occasion with a footnote thanking all who volunteered to stage this impressive show: I saw Santa, thanks DOCA!

With Young Farmers pimping their tractors in lights and tinsel, raring to set off on December 17th, to the enlightening parade of lanterns, and from hot rum toddies served at the Muck, to the aromas of the food stands, to Soupchick busy at the helm, craft fair in the Corn Exchange and projections on the facade of the Shambles, it was a spectacle to behold while Devizes Town Band blessed the Market Place with seasonal anthems.

And that’s about it, really, a communal and hospitable gathering with an ambience of goodwill you cannot fault, need not improve, and annually marking the beginning of Christmas. Even a repeat of Home Alone or Die Hard on the telebox wouldn’t hold me back; bit nippy though, innit?!

• 
  Katie Hopkins to Reopen Devizes Cinema in May
  Picturedrone, the new owners of the old Palace Cinema in Devizes announced today that the cinema will have a grand reopening as early as May, … Continue reading “Katie Hopkins to Reopen Devizes Cinema in May”
• 
  Harmony Asia Can Do This
  It’s a question I’ve asked Chippenham singer-songwriter Harmony Asia on each rare occasion I catch her for a chat; if she’s planning to capture a … Continue reading “Harmony Asia Can Do This”
• 
  A Year into a Lib Dem Wiltshire Council; Chatting with Ben Reed
  It’s a Friday, just polishing off a big boy breakfast at New Society. Got the window seat; I ponder how beautiful Devizes Market Place looks … Continue reading “A Year into a Lib Dem Wiltshire Council; Chatting with Ben Reed”
• 
  Battle of Bishop’s Cannings Ends in Devizes Defeat
  David slew Goliath with a sling and a stone. Bishop’s Cannings Parish Council used evidence, against a group of Devizes Town councillors’ more circumstantial land … Continue reading “Battle of Bishop’s Cannings Ends in Devizes Defeat”
• 
  How it Feels for a Bluebeard!
  The first time I heard the name Bluebeard and the Desperate Hours, I presumed their sound might be folk or blues inspired. Judging a book … Continue reading “How it Feels for a Bluebeard!”
• 
  “Underdog: The Other Other Brontë” at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath, March 25th-28th 2026
  by Ian Diddams images by Richard Fletcher How many Brontë sisters can you name? Which books did the sisters write between them? Can you name … Continue reading ““Underdog: The Other Other Brontë” at the Rondo Theatre, Larkhall, Bath, March 25th-28th 2026”
• 
  7 Hills to Trowbridge’s Old Town Hall
  To clear up any confusion, Trowbridge’s old town hall is no longer the town hall, but The Old Town Hall. I have no idea, nor … Continue reading “7 Hills to Trowbridge’s Old Town Hall”
• 
  Wiltshire Hunt Sabs Stolen Drone Footage Reveals a Beaufont Hunt Kill
  Retrieved footage from a stolen drone of the Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs reveals the Beaufont Hunt making a fox kill earlier this month, and it’s undeniable … Continue reading “Wiltshire Hunt Sabs Stolen Drone Footage Reveals a Beaufont Hunt Kill”
• 
  Extended Lineup for CrownFest
  It was back in October when we revealed CrownFest at The Crown in Bishop’s Cannings was returning this summer, and January when we last mentioned … Continue reading “Extended Lineup for CrownFest”
• 
  Vox Populi: New Album From Deadlight Dance
  The difference between punk and goth is that as a punk you reject society, as a goth society rejects you. Being society lives mostly online … Continue reading “Vox Populi: New Album From Deadlight Dance”