Join us at the Christmas Cracker on Sunday 19 November – the family event which launches the festive season in St Albans City Centre.
Thousands are expected at the annual street party which runs from noon until 6pm with St Peters Street closed to traffic.
Among the free attractions are Santa’s grotto, live music, art and craft activities, games and a guest appearance from CBeebies celebrity Maddie Moate, star of this year's Alban Arena pantomime. There will also be around 100 stalls selling hot food, drinks and seasonal gifts.
Festive decorations and installations, provided by St Albans BID, will be lit up throughout to add to the exciting atmosphere.
More information, including a timetable for the free entertainment, can be found at the Enjoy St Albans website where you will also find details of other District events.
St Albans Museum + Gallery is hosting a creative Christmas fair on Saturday 2 December.
The event is organised with Shop Small St Albans. It will run from 11am to 4pm and will feature more than 30 small businesses.
This will offer shoppers the chance to buy seasonal gifts, many of them hand-made by local artists and crafts people.
|
St Albans Mayor, Councillor Anthony Rowlands, is hosting a carol service at the Clock Tower on Sunday 10 December.
He will be accompanied by St Peter’s Church Choir and St Albans City Band with refreshments provided by The Boot pub.
The traditional carol singing runs from 4pm to 4.45pm with everyone welcome and funds raised going to support Rennie Grove Hospice.
|
Harpenden Christmas Carnival and Light Switch On, Sunday 26 November, noon to 6pm
Organised by Harpenden Town Council, this exciting event will include the Farmers’ Market, Santa's Grotto, the Harris Funfair, the main stage, walk about entertainment, Young Enterprise Trade Fair and the much-anticipated procession. The lights will be switched on from the stage at 5pm. More details are available here.
Wheathampstead Lights Up, Thursday 23 November, 5.30pm to 8pm
Lots of stalls, food and drink, Santa’s Grotto, fairground rides, live music and more, centred on the Hight Street. There is also a magical Christmas Market in the Crinkle Crankle Community Garden on the same day, 4pm to 8pm.
Batford Christmas Lights Up, Thursday 30 November, 4.30pm to 6.30pm
Carols, mulled wine, mince pies and craft activities - a traditional Batford Christmas celebration!
Southdown Christmas Lights and Lanterns Extravaganza, Friday 1 December, 5pm to 8pm
This event opens with the stunning annual lantern parade and includes carol singing, stalls, craft activities and Santa’s grotto. Lights switched on at 6.15pm.
London Colney Lights Switch On, Sunday 3 December, 3.30pm to 6pm
A fun afternoon featuring a market, carols, food stalls, funfair rides and other attractions in the High Street near Chester Gibbons Green.
Redbourn Christmas Market, Sunday 3 December, 11am to 5pm
Over 100 stalls, Santa, a raffle with lots of fabulous prizes including a Christmas hamper, live entertainment at three locations and much more.
This is a not-for-profit event organised by volunteers to raise funds for running the event and paying for the village’s Christmas light display. More information is available here.
We have won the award for Best Next Generation Employer at the prestigious LGC Workforce Awards 2023.
The accolade was for our programme to recruit and retain talented young staff in a highly competitive job market.
Growing Your Own – Bringing In and Bringing On Talent creates challenging jobs for young people at the Council to the benefit of our residents.
Jane Pearce, our People and Organisational Development Manager, and Jonathan Ellis, a National Management Graduate Trainee, presented our entry at the finals in Birmingham.
The Judges said: “The Council has made next generation employees feel welcome and valued, providing great opportunities for development by giving them ownership over major pieces of work. We felt the summer interns programme was particularly innovative."
The centre, which is run by Everyone Active on our behalf, was awarded the Quest accreditation, the UK’s quality scheme for sports and leisure.
Quest inspected all the facilities and key management were interviewed as part of the assessment to see how well the centre was serving all the District’s residents.
The centre, which has a 6,000-plus membership, includes a 200-station gym, group exercise studios, swimming pool, sports hall, 29-bike studio, hot yoga studio, children’s soft play area, café and crèche.
 Hundreds of people gathered in the City Centre to show their respects to Britain’s war dead at a moving Remembrance Sunday Parade and Service.
The Mayor of St Albans City and District, Councillor Anthony Rowlands, led the commemoration and was joined by leaders of the major faiths.
Representatives of air, sea and army cadets, the Guiding and Scout movements, the Police and other uniformed services were present.
There were also Royal British Legion members, Honorary Aldermen and Councillors from County, District, Town and Parish Councils.
Geetu Sethi was joined at her Holistic Healing stall by daughter Nandika as she celebrated her first anniversary as a trader at St Albans Charter Market.
The natural medicine health practitioner decided to take the plunge and become a trader after years of working from home and out of various health food stores and clinics.
She said: “It has been a rewarding experience for me. It makes me feel happy when people take my advice and I can help them.”
Geetu sells a variety of natural remedies, some of which she makes herself, along with food supplements and medicines for pets.
“I can help with many conditions and take an holistic approach, looking to improve not just physical health but emotional health and wellbeing too,” she said.
Geetu is one of a growing number of new traders at the Market and anyone who is considering setting up a stall should contact our Markets team.
Come along to the Charter Market on Saturday 25 November and find out why we are promoting White Ribbon Day.
Our community safety team will be at a stall from 10am to 2pm, handing out information leaflets and chatting to people about the worldwide White Ribbon campaign to end male violence against women. The theme this year is Change The Story.
We achieved White Ribbon status last year, showing that we are committed as an organisation to never take part in, excuse or remain silent about male violence against women.
In another initiative, our Museum + Gallery will be lit up in orange for 16 days starting on Monday 27 November.
This is in recognition of the United Nations’ Orange The World campaign which also seeks to end violence against women and girls.
Two Council by-elections will take place in St Albans District on Thursday 7 December 2023.
One election is for a vacant seat in the Sandridge & Wheathampstead ward of St Albans City and District Council.
The other is for the Harpenden Rural division of Hertfordshire County Council.
Poll cards have been issued and voters should check to see which polling station they should attend in case of a change.
Voters are reminded they will need to show approved photo ID to vote at their polling station.
|
 We are continuing to take action this winter to discourage the feeding of birds at Verulamium Park.
New campaign posters, warning of the dangers of feeding, are being placed around the park.
Persistent bird feeders have been approached and asked to refrain from the practice or the Council may be forced to take formal action which could result in a fine or a prosecution of the offender.
Feeding the birds may seem like a nice thing to do, but it is harmful to the birds and the environment.
A diet rich in carbohydrates such as bread, for instance, can cause ducks, geese and other wildfowl to develop Angel Wing Syndrome.
This condition causes wing joints to become twisted with feathers sticking out rather than lying flat against the body. It can prevent flight and result in premature death.
If food is easy to come by, birds fail to follow their natural migration patterns and stay in the park instead.
Too many birds in the park, and the excess droppings that result, have a negative impact on the water quality of the artificial lakes and the surrounding parkland.
The Counselling Foundation is one of the many good causes that is raising funds from the St Albans District Community Lottery.
The Foundation works across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire to provide counselling to those in need and train people to become professional counsellors.
They offer an affordable counselling service to which anyone can self-refer to for up to a year.
You can help the Foundation by playing the online lottery with tickets available here. There is a weekly draw, a top prize of £25,000 and 50p of each £1 ticket goes to a good cause of your choosing with another 10p supporting community grants.
Money raised by the Counselling Foundation will help individuals in our community who may be struggling to fund counselling sessions.
|
We are holding a Landlord Forum on the evening of Thursday 23 November - an opportunity for private landlords and letting agents to learn about new legislation, receive advice from guest speakers and discuss housing issues.
Representatives from the Council’s private sector housing team and Mosaic Lettings agency will be in attendance.
Sustainable St Albans is offering householders the chance to check the energy efficiency of their homes.
The group is allowing residents to borrow thermal imaging cameras free of charge and join an online session on how to use them.
The camera enables you to see heat leaking or cold air entering your house by taking colour-coded images, highlighting temperature differences.
It will uncover insufficient loft insulation, gaps in floorboards, draughty windows and other features that could be improved to save on energy bills. Information about how to book a camera is available here.
The group has also recommended a free booklet, Stay Warm for Less, with money-saving tips. You can download a copy here.
|
The Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) offers help to residents with off-grid gas heating systems who may be struggling to pay their energy bills.
Among the enhancements being offered are improved insulation, energy-efficient lighting, solar panels and the installation of an air source heat pump.
These measures could help you to use less energy, reduce your carbon footprint and spend less on energy bills.
We have been allocated some of the Government’s fund for homes in the District. To find out if you are eligible and apply for help, call 0808 196 8255 or go here.
St Albans Cycle Hub is one of two good causes in the District to benefit from Govia Thameslink Railway’s community fund.
The grant will help fund the Hub’s community cycling engagement project, encouraging people to build cycling confidence through bike training as well as safety and maintenance courses.
The hub is based at the £2.7 million Cottonmill Community and Cycling Centre which was officially opened by the Council earlier this year.
Also benefiting from a grant is the Daylight Club, three community art projects based at St Albans City Station involving isolated communities, including disabled adults, and a local infants school.
|
Exhibition: Rana Begum: Ordered Form, Museum + Gallery, from Friday 8 December to Sunday 14 April 2024, Free.
Internationally acclaimed artist Rana Begum returns to St Albans, where she grew up and went to school, for a solo exhibition of her new works.
Currently living and working in London, Rana moved to St Albans from Bangladesh with her family at the age of eight.
She attended Bernards Heath Junior School and St Albans Girls School before completing a foundation arts course at the University of Hertfordshire.
Curated by UH Arts + Culture, the exhibition focuses on her works of the past three years and includes sculptures, paintings and screen prints.
Photo: Rana at work by Philip White.
|
Talk: The House in the Park, the Hypocaust, Verulamium Park, Saturday 25 November, 12.30pm, Free.
The story of the Roman Town of Verulamium Park comes to life in regular Museum talks on the subject. This one is about the carefully preserved Hypocaust, an amazing feat of Roman engineering. This talk is in partnership with St Albans Tour Guides and the meeting place is the Hypocaust building.
More information about what's on at our Museums can be found here.
|
 St Albans Healthy Hub is your free one-stop-shop for health and wellbeing information, advice and support.
You can get advice on how to lose weight, quit smoking, cut down on alcohol, become more active, manage money and much else.
The organisations involved include Citizens Advice, Communities 1st, Mind in Mid Herts and many more. You can find more information here.
Winter’s darker nights and plunging temperatures can be tough for people’s mental health and wellbeing.
The impact of the rising cost of living is also causing emotional strain for many people who might be worrying about their families, health, jobs and finances.
Hertfordshire County Council has compiled a directory of organisations that are delivering services to support your mental health and wellbeing this winter.
Among the organisations you can reach out to are Herts Mind Network, the Alzheimer’s Society, the Samaritans, Carers In Herts and the Domestic Abuse Helpline.
You can find the directory, including details of who to contact for urgent help, here.
|
Just Talk Week, Monday 20 to Sunday 26 November: Back to Basics.
Just Talk is a mental health and wellbeing campaign in support of Hertfordshire’s children and young people.
The focus of this year’s annual campaign is to strengthen understanding.
The theme is Back to Basics and children and young people will be encouraged to embrace conversations about mental health while being shown where to find support if needed.
|
Togetherall is a community of people from all walks of life who have come together to give and to get mental health support.
You can join Togetherall for free here and find someone who will understand how you are feeling and would love to hear your story.
|
|
