A polar bear spotted at Aylesbury's Friars Square shopping centre on Saturday

Families could bear-ly believe their eyes when they saw a polar bear wandering around Friars Square shopping centre on Saturday!
A lifelike polar bear appeared at the Friars Square Shopping Centre this weekendA lifelike polar bear appeared at the Friars Square Shopping Centre this weekend
A lifelike polar bear appeared at the Friars Square Shopping Centre this weekend

The stunning lifelike animatronic polar bear and his herder Ursula performed three nature documentary-style talks where children learned about bears and their arctic habitat. Children could also feed and stroke the polar bear.

There were lots of other sparkling festive walkabouts at the event including the gorgeous Glitter Belles, the Snow Princesses and a roller skating snowmen.

On Saturday 7 December youngsters can meet the Christmas Nutkins, two charming giant squirrels who are nuts about the festive season. The cuddly red squirrels will give out lots of Christmas hugs.

They will be joined by the Celebrity Reindeer Prancer and Dancer who will strut their stuff on their bouncy stilts. A sprinkle of seasonal magic will come from a roller skating Christmas pudding and a rather rotund skating snowman.

On Saturday 14 December there will be some very important visitors from the Antarctic, the Penguin Family and Crumpet the Elf. These elegant eight foot Emperor penguins and their gorgeous chick Egbertah are sure to be a hit. There will also be festive balloon modelling, stiltwalking frost fairies and a roller skating reindeer.

Friars Square shopping centre manager Andy Margieson said: “Everyone really enjoyed meeting Bjorn the bear on Saturday. It’s such a busy and important time for our retailers so it’s great to have some special entertainment to add to the festive feeling at Friars Square.”

The events are free and take place between 11am and 3pm. More details at facebook/FriarsSquareShoppingCentre or friarssquareshopping.com

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