SEASONAL celebrations are well and truly under way after the official opening of Bolton’s Christmas attractions.

The town centre has been transformed with sparkling features for the holiday period, with a giant artificial snow slide on Newport Street, a covered ice rink and a nativity scene in Victoria Square, plus a Santa’s grotto on Oxford Street.

The council has arranged the special Christmas programme, from December 10 to January 8, in an attempt to attract thousands of visitors and boost town centre trade over the festive period.

The University of Bolton has sponsored the 55-metre snow slide and the town’s first ever covered ice rink is sponsored by Market Place Shopping Centre.

The Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Lynda Byrne officially cut the ribbon to launch the festival at the ice rink on Saturday, which was followed by performances from professionals on the rink.

Aris F Mattheou, director of institutional advancement at the University of Bolton, said: “It’s wonderful to be here on such an auspicious occasion to celebrate Christmas and the winter holiday season.

“This is a case study of how town and gown can work together to benefit the whole community.

“We are working to improve the town and to improve the educational opportunities for people in Bolton.”

Nikki Wilson-Cook, centre manager at Market Place Shopping Centre, said: “It’s really important to have things like this in the town centre, it’s all about the family and how we can encourage people to take up a new sport, which ice skating is, of course, and to have a bit of fun.

“The ice rink is a fantastic facility to have, so that is why we supported it last year and why we are doing so again this year.”

And Cllr Cliff Morris, leader of Bolton Council, said: “It’s great to set off the Christmas season with something like this for the town centre as a whole and for the people of Bolton to gather at and enjoy.

“It’s great to see children coming and enjoying themselves and there seems to be a very big queue already outside Santa’s grotto, it’s a wonderful time.”

There was also a camel parade, with three kings bearing gifts, to the Market Place for a performance by the Rock Choir in the Vaults.

And the attractions have already succeeded in bringing in visitors from outside the town.

One family, from Swinton, brought their children to enjoy the ice rink.

Jamie Fawcett, aged 33, said: "It's brilliant and the kids have loved it.

"We were going to go to Altrincham but when knew about all this we decided to come to Bolton instead, it's a great idea."

Tickets are available online at www.visitbolton.com/winterfestival and from the on-site box office on Victoria Square.

Reporter David Taylor visits the Winter Festival 

I MUST admit I can be a bit of a Scrooge around this time of year, I often think celebrations can start a bit early. However, if you ask me to test out a giant slide in the middle of Bolton, I suddenly change my tune.

Forget tinsel and blinking fairy lights, this is what Christmas should be about — hurtling down 55 metres of fake snow at high speed in a big rubber tyre.

The drop was much quicker than I thought, and genuinely exciting — I felt my stomach hang in the air as if I was on a roller coaster, and I couldn’t hear for the sound of the wind rushing past me and the friction of the tyre on the surface.

By the time I hit the flat straight at the bottom I was travelling at a significant pace, and I needed all of the steep ramp at the end to cushion my momentum.

The descent is the most fun, but it’s also a great way of seeing the whole of Victoria Square from a vantage point, which is now looking great with the Christmas attractions.

I am a limited ice skater and spent most of my time on the rink making sure I didn’t inadvertently do the splits.

But once I got the hang of it I began to enjoy the freedom of movement and the great feeling of gliding across the ice.

It’s a brilliant attraction for the town centre to have during the festivities period, and it’s good to see it is already bringing in visitors from other parts of Greater Manchester, not just Bolton.