Playing the 'Big' piano at the Team Reece Winter Wonderland are Paul and Christine Gardner with son Joseph.Playing the 'Big' piano at the Team Reece Winter Wonderland are Paul and Christine Gardner with son Joseph.
Playing the 'Big' piano at the Team Reece Winter Wonderland are Paul and Christine Gardner with son Joseph.

Morecambe's first Winter Wonderland hailed a big success - picture special

Morecambe's first Winter Wonderland in memory of Overton teen Reece Holt brought the Christmas spirit to town on Saturday.

The celebration aimed to bring festive cheer to the community while remembering Reece.

Reece, who passed away in January 2019 at the age of 13 following a battle against brain cancer, loved Christmas, and so his family and Team Reece - the charity he launched before his death - planned a big celebration of the Christmas season.

The event included Christmas market stalls, a fun fair and a Winter Wonderland display.

And as we exclusively revealed recently, the original piano from the Tom Hanks film Big also featured at the event, along with a giant snow globe.

The highlight of the day was a colourful parade of tractors, trucks and other vehicles along the prom, with everyone undeterred by the heavy fog that descended throughout the day!

The winners of the best entries into the parade were announced by seven-year-old Stuart Ryder-Muir on Monday. Stuart has been battling a brain tumour and is one of the many youngsters helped by Team Reece.

He picked Colin Hargreaves' tractor in first place for the Reece Holt Memorial Trophy and a £500 Amazon voucher. In second place, the Sian Waterhouse Memorial Trophy and a £200 Argos voucher went to St John's Junior Church, while the third place George Hinds Memorial Trophy and a £200 shopping voucher went to Shine 4 Sian.

Reece's mum Rachel O'Neil said: "We want to thank the community for turning out on such a cold day. It was quite emotional to see everyone lining the prom from the Headway to the Battery to watch the parade.

"It was a fantastic Christmas event and we will be back next year bigger and better.

"I want to thank everyone who helped and took part and we hope everyone enjoyed it and it brought a bit of festive sparkle to Morecambe."

All money raised will go to Team Reece to spend on helping local families facing childhood cancer diagnoses.

The event included Christmas market stalls, a fun fair and a Winter Wonderland display.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.