‘Winter Wonderland’ brings magic to Healy Park

CHRISTMAS will be extra special this year with a magical ‘Winter Wonderland’ opening its doors at Omagh’s O’Neills Healy Park.

The home of St Enda’s, Healy Park is well-known for hosting all Tyrone’s home matches but this December it will host a different team in red and white as Santa and all his entourage will be present – including reindeers!

With free entry, the winter wonderland will be in place for a month from December 3.

As well as boasting the ‘Omagh Eye’ – perhaps one of the biggest ferris wheels of its kind – the winter wonderland provides fun for all the family with an amusement park and a cracking Christmas market, which will be sponsored by local company Fibrus Networks Hyperfast Fibre Broadband.

There will be also stall holders with a focus on local crafts and vendors serving locally-produced foods. A beer tent will be at the event with live entertainment on throughout the evenings and days.

And of course, no winter wonderland is complete without Santa Claus, who will be greeting youngsters in a very special location.

There will also be a ‘Santa trail’ which will feature specialist lighting from local firm Galaxy, as well as real reindeers and elves.

It is guaranteed to generate real excitement for all of the family in the build up to December 25.

“Omagh’s Winter Wonderland” will be a first for the local area and has already attracted lots of interest from families from across the North and locally, who will want to visit the big man himself Santa. Mr Christmas will be in a very special location.

Conor Sally, director of ‘Omagh Winter Wonderland’, outlined the plans for the event.

He said, “We are delighted that Fibrus have come on board with Fermanagh & Omagh District Council and the National Lottery to bring something really special to the west – indeed it is a first for the area.

“Between our stalls, Santa’s trail, amusements, beer tent and live stage we will have something for everyone and on their doorsteps.”

Sponsors for the event, Fibrus, said the ‘Winter Wonderland’ is a natural fit in their bid to ‘connect individuals and communities’.

Jemma Dougherty PR and Marketing expert, said, “We are absolutely delighted to be supporting the ‘Omagh Winter Wonderland,’ a magical Christmas extravaganza, which will be a special place for families to connect and make happy memories this festive season.”

The month-long wonderland will be a welcome boost for the local community and will also be supported by the council.

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council chairman, Errol Thompson said, “It is vital we have events like this for the community and to bring in people from outside of our area. This event will hopefully bring in people from outside Omagh and Fermanagh and it will lifting people’s spirits as we go towards the Christmas period.”

Colm Broderick, president of Omagh Chamber of Commerce and industry, said the event will “certainly add to the Omagh economy.”

“It will bring together the community and traders from all over the country and it will be an opportunity for our town to shine while bringing extra footfall to the area,” he added. “We would like to encourage; craft, gift and food vendors to get in touch and book a stall.”

There will be lots of coverage of the ‘Winter Wonderland’ through all our newspapers from the North West of Ireland Printing and Publishing Company and We Are Tyrone.

local talent

To get the local community involved throughout the month, organisers are seeking local talent to join in on the fun with a request for any group involved in; singing, drama, carols or dance.

To book a slot or make contact they are asked to send for details from entertainment@omaghstendas.com

Admission will be free with the hope families will come back a couple of times over the month, booking details for Santa’s Trail and special pre booking deals for the amusements and the ‘Omagh Eye’ are all available on the ‘OmaghWinter Wonderland’ Facebook page or by emailing entertainment@omaghstendas.com.