By Tyler Wright
Shoppers will be treated to a late-night shopping experience through the Upwey, as the township is lit up once again this Christmas with local traders sporting festive light displays.
On Wednesday 14 December, as the Upwey Community Group runs Christmas festivities including dress ups, crafts and carols between 5pm and 8pm, most shops are also expected to be open for late night trading in 2022 in an initiative by the Upwey Traders Association.
“It’s the first time we’re doing this, so it’s going to be an evolving thing where if it goes well, we’ll make it bigger and better next year, and we’ll be building that again,” Upwey Traders Assocation member and owner of Upwey Myotherapy Mathew Richardson said.
“We’re really lucky here in here Upwey, because the town is off the main highway and the group of shops here, we’re very close community, so we can run these events and people can feel safe around the streets, they can laugh, they can have fun,” Mr Richardson said.
While there is a competition on which shop boasts the best Christmas light display, voted by the public, Mr Richardson, who will be dressing up as an elf at the Light Up Upwey event, said it’s not about winning for businesses, but rather building up the town of Upwey.
“We’re in that window where everyone’s holding off on their decorations, and then the next week you watch it, it’s going to go boom,” he said.
“We’re looking at making them sparkle.”
