Great Malvern will soon come alive with festive magic when the town celebrates the 125th birthday of C.S. Lewis and the return of the annual Great Malvern Christmas Festival.

To commemorate this milestone birthday (29 November) of the much-loved author and his connections to The Malverns, elements of the festival will be themed around The Chronicles of Narnia alongside the usual activities.

This includes Santa’s Grotto, Christmas Markets, festive entertainment, and Malvern Theatres’ pantomime stars turning on the Christmas Lights.

Taking place on Saturday 25 November, there will be a variety of activities on offer:

• Lantern parade
• Animatronic polar bear
• Face painting at the Mount Pleasant Hotel
• C.S. Lewis Literary Walk (11am guided tour by lecturer Dan Johnson)
• Storytelling
• Live music
• Arts and Crafts markets

From 24 to 30 November, visitors will be able to take part in the Great Malvern Gas Lamp Trail where they can see the many lamps that have been restored to their former glory.

Malvern Hills District Council is also joining forces with Creatives Connect, a local artist group, to deliver an innovative arts project to mark the event.

Participating shops and businesses will receive a stencil of a gas lamp, to be displayed in their window from 24 November, creating a display of decorated windows.

C.S. Lewis (Clive Staples Lewis) attended Malvern College on a scholarship in the early 1900s. His time at the college may have been what planted the seed for one of the most iconic scenes in The Chronicles of Narnia.

It is said that Lewis had commented on Malvern’s collection of gas lamps, and it is possible they provided inspiration for the famous light that signalled the point past which magic could be found.

Visit visitthemalverns.org/christmasfestival for the full programme of events.