Last night may have yielded a Late Late special but yesterday saw the opening of the second Winterval festival and organisers in Waterford hope it will become as hardy a festive annual as the Toy Show itself.

More than 250,000 people visited the southeast last year as a result of the event in Waterford city and organisers hope to double that figure this December with a range of family events and activities, many of them free.

Getting the ball rolling yesterday was none other than Santa Claus, who arrived via the river Suir on a 40-foot Viking longboat, disembarking at the marina in the city centre quays. Santa was met by Winterval elves before greeting many of the hundreds of boys and girls gathered there.

Visitors enjoyed the premiere of the 3D lightshow, which was one of the big hits of last year’s festival. This year’s seven-minute show, based on Tchaikovsky’s Nutracker, will be projected on to the front of the Old Deanery on the hour and half-hour, between 5pm and 9pm Wednesday to Sunday, until the festival ends.

'Bigger and better'
Winterval chairman Barry Monaghan said the event was "bigger and better" than last year's and was set to match Christmas festivals and markets on the Continent. "We saw a lot of things a couple of years ago when we visited Bremen and Hamburg and we felt this year we can really produce something in an Irish context that's on a par with anything we've seen in Germany. "

The aim, he said, was to have a “magical wonderland for children” and they hope up to 500,000 will visit over the coming month. “We’ve extended it by five days from December 27th and that will coincide with sales time.”

Highlights include a giant snow-globe, a helter-skelter slide, the Hasbro Toy Museum, an animal farm, Viking Christmas, Polish Christmas, storytelling at Reginald's Tower, craft workshops and more.