This week sees the arrival of the much-anticipated gingerbread family to Cardiff Bay and to celebrate partner organisations are holding their first Gingerbread Day in the Bay.
The gingerbread trail officially opens on Thursday 1 December and participating venues across the iconic waterfront location, led by Waterfront Partners Cardiff Bay, will be hosting fun, free activities on Saturday 3 December.
The Red Dragon Centre will be hosting a gingerbread cookie decorating workshop, Mermaid Quay will be offering a free wooden gingerbread tree decoration craft session and visitors to the Norwegian Church can enjoy a visit from three of Santa’s elves, for two hours for games, songs and storytelling.
Craft in the Bay will be hosting gingerbread pottery fun and The Senedd will have a Christmas crafts table throughout the festive period, giving visitors the chance to decorate their own gingerbread character to add to their Christmas tree at home or the one in the Senedd.
Emma Constantinou, marketing manager at the Red Dragon Centre, said: “We’re so excited to see the Gingerbread Trail open and to celebrate it with the Gingerbread Day in the Bay. We know that things are tough for a lot of families at the moment so we wanted to host the free trail so that everyone can join in.”
“We hope that by having a full day of free family fun on Saturday 3 December, lots of families will be able to start their festive celebrations in style.”
Becky Jones, marketing manager of Mermaid Quay, said: “The Gingerbread Trail will be a great source of fun for families and friends alike. After a couple of years of uncertainty around Christmas, it’s great to be able to celebrate in style and fantastic to see so many free activities taking place for the Gingerbread Day in the Bay to really kick off the festive season.”
After visitors have enjoyed the free activities, they can search for the nine adorable gingerbread statues spread around the Bay and visit the gingerbread sleigh taking centre stage in Roald Dahl Plass.
As well as being able to take photos with the characters, visitors are being challenged to take part in a free prize draw simply by spotting the letters hidden on each of the characters and unscrambling them to find a festive word. The puzzle can be completed in English or Welsh, either in one of the booklets available at participating venues or online at visitcardiffbay.info.
The family prize will include an overnight stay with breakfast at Future Inns, Everyman cinema tickets, family bowling at Hollywood Bowl, and a meal at Hub Box.
The trail will run from 1 December to 8 January, with the prize draw taking place once the trail closes. There will also be random spot prizes for people who submit their selfies via social media. The prizes, which are being provided by a range of partners, include Odeon cinema tickets, a boat tour with Princess Katharine, a meal at Volcano in the Red Dragon Centre and more.
The Gingerbread Trail is being supported by The Red Dragon Centre, Cardiff Harbour Authority, Craft in the Bay, The Senedd, Mermaid Quay, Giovanni’s in the Bay, Voco St David’s Hotel and the Coal Exchange Hotel Cardiff.
For further information visit www.visitcardiffbay.info