THERE are just hours to go until Wycombe embraces the Christmas spirit with a blaze of colour and a host of family events at its annual light switch-on event.

Ice Age characters Sid and Scrat will switch the festive lights on in Frogmoor at 6.45pm but there will be plenty to enjoy throughout the town centre before that.

Events kick off at 4pm, and visitors can enjoy Christmas stalls, funfair rides and a visit to Santa in his grotto. There will also be two stages, each boasting a host of live music and performances.

On the main stage, from 5.25pm, the attractions will include the Wycombe Cheerleaders, The Glee Club Choir, the Martial Arts Club, Bucks Voice of the Year, the XCS Reggae Soca Band, Castle Street Dance Studio, Hartbeats African Drummers, Songbirds, James and Max from Deaf Havana and youngsters from Stagecoach. The all-important switch-on will take place at 6.45pm.

And if that wasn’t enough, the Community Stage will welcome performances from the Hannah Ball School Choir, Tiger Martial Arts, the UGM Academy, Stagecoach and the Salvation Army.

Also doing the rounds throughout the evening will be characters from this year’s Wycombe Swan panto, Dick Whittington.

Parking charges at town centre car parks are in place tonight, but free parking days are coming up on December 13 and 20, in the run up to Christmas.