Organisers hope a Wiltshire town’s Winter Festival can continue its success next year after drawing in thousands of people.

Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts (DOCA) held its annual Winter Festival in the town centre on Friday and Saturday, November 25.

While an official attendance has not yet been released, thousands of people were in Devizes for the event, while this year’s lantern parade was “much bigger than last year”, according to DOCA.

Assistant director Annabel Lake said: “We were blown away by the attendance, there were a lot of people and everyone really loved it.

“The lantern parade itself was much bigger and that’s because we’ve held 17 lantern workshops in the buildup.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Devizes Winter FestivalDevizes Winter Festival (Image: Simon Folkard Photography)

The parade was followed by the Christmas lights switch on, a role taken on by Santa who was given some help from local hero Tommy Bridewell this year.

Celebrations also included a video projection on The Shambles and Window Wanderland, which saw residents and businesses turn their windows into works of art.

The event caps off a successful year of community events for DOCA, which hopes to continue growing in 2024.

Ms Lake added: “We’re incredibly happy with what we’ve achieved but we’re always looking to the future.

“The togetherness between us, local businesses, and the council has been fabulous and we hope to carry on the success.”