‘It is no longer going to happen’: Wick Santaland ruled out due to shortage of volunteers
Wick’s Santaland attraction will no longer take place due to a shortage of volunteers – and it is even possible there will be no festive lights at all to brighten up the streets of the town by the time Christmas 2026 comes around.
Claire Mackenzie, chairperson of Wick Christmas Lights Committee, praised her small team but emphasised the need for more helping hands when she gave an update at the May meeting of the Royal Burgh of Wick Community Council this week.
She has been leading the committee – a community council subgroup – for more than 10 years.
Santaland, based in the Rosebank playing fields, created festive magic for hundreds of families and tickets were snapped up almost immediately. It was last held in 2023 and the intention was to run it every two years.
However, Mrs Mackenzie told community councillors on Monday: “We had our AGM and unfortunately there are no new members.

“We are down to a total of seven. We have scheduled our annual bingo and fun day and Santa’s sleigh, but unfortunately the lack of volunteers has now affected our operations.
“Santaland is no longer going to happen – we cannot do it with the people that we’ve got, and I’m gutted because I loved it.
“It was such a massive thing, not just for Wick but for the whole county. To sell out 500 tickets in two minutes, that’s just mental, so the demand is there.”
Mrs Mackenzie was asked how many volunteers were required to run Santaland.
She replied: “You probably need eight per night, but that’s not including setting everything up. It took my mum and I the best part of two-and-a-half days to set it up last time.
“It’s just not feasible. The committee I’ve got, I couldn’t be prouder of them – they have pulled out the stops every single year, but we’re all 10 years older than when we first started this.
“I would hate for me to walk away, but there will be no Christmas lights next year if we can’t get people in and it’s as simple as that.
“But we are going to muddle on and do what we can this year and we’ll have to review it again come February/March.”
Mrs Mackenzie explained that new lights have been purchased this year to go from the corner of High Street and Bridge Street up to the former St Fergus Parish Church.
She added: “We’re trying to get a maintenance team together.”
Wick Fun Day 2025 will be on Saturday, November 29, with the fundraising prize bingo event on Tuesday, November 18.
Speaking after the meeting, Mrs Mackenzie, a co-opted member of the community council, said: “Santaland was last held in 2023. As a group we decided that, due to the set-up work involved, we would run it every two years.
“This was partly due to lack of volunteers and it is actually days of preparation work, without counting the time sourcing everything. Unfortunately now we are unable to hold this event again.
“It was a phenomenal success, with people all over the county attending. Many actually stated that they had travelled afar to other Santa experiences and the one Wick ran was far ahead – what a great testament to what we can achieve.
“As it stands, we are only a small group of seven people. I am very aware that we all have families and full-time work, and many of the group have been doing this for over 10 years now.
“We need some new blood. If people do not come forward it may mean that Christmas lights 2026 will be in jeopardy.
“The voluntary work that people see on Wick Fun Day is just the tip of the iceberg.”
She added: “We are extremely lucky to have support that we do from some of the local businesses, such as Simpsons, as we wouldn’t be able to put the lights up without them, and also Colin Mackenzie Removals and Storage for the transport and storage of all the items.”
The town’s Hogmanay street party is likely to take place again this year.
Event organiser Allan Farquhar, the community council chairman, told this week’s meeting: “Certainly the intention at the moment is for it to go ahead.”