Christmas tree, rich plum cakes, and a carnival signal festive celebrations in Coimbatore

Christmas tree, rich plum cakes, and carnival signal festive celebrations in Coimbatore

Cynosure of all eyes

A decked-up Christmas tree with string lights, reindeer, stars and baubles, and a whopping 100 stuffed teddy bear seems to be the celebrity at the buzzing Prozone Mall in Saravanampatti. Visitors click selfies and enjoy their moments with the twinkling lights backdrop. “The tree’s height almost touches 50 feet if you also take into account the sturdy, layered platform that is used to erect the structure, and the shining star at top,” says Amrik Panesar, centre head about the larger-than-life Christmas tree, a star attraction at the mall as it gears up to host a festive carnival featuring stilt walkers, and a giant Santa walking about with his gunny bag entertaining children.

There is also a Santa kids balloon run competition for children. “Every year, there is excitement around Christmas, and this time we set up the tallest indoor Christmas tree at the main atrium to kickstart the festivities,” says Amrik adding that a lot of engineering (with 400 kilograms of ms steel used for the fabrication of the tree) and several hours of work by a dedicated team has gone into designing the tree.

“We wanted to use teddy bears to deck up the tree as these toys are a big hit with children,” explains Amrik. Christmas wreath decor on the walls also feature a tiny red teddy bear. “It’s a double-layered Christmas tree and so it’s not easy one,” says Smita Nair of Art Events who, along with her team, had a packed 15-day schedule to give shape to the giant tree. “The sturdy tree weighs 400 kilograms. We built a strong core before starting the layers of fabrication. A 14-feet structure was lifted as a single piece with decor and lights and was placed on the base. We have used as many as 100 soft teddy bears sourced from across the country on the tree along with bells and stars,” she explains.

The idea is to draw shoppers as the season is also the time when brands lay out their end of season annual sale. “The atmosphere is festive. People shop, click selfies and generally have a good time. We want to ring in a beary Christmas and kick-start the festivities.”

On till January 5. The carnival features entertainment events, carols, music shows, DJ nights, food festivals, and performances by artists, competitions for children. There is also a lucky draw for shoppers to win prizes worth 10 lakh.

All roads lead to plum cake