After the City of Lights lantern parade, Truro's reindeer procession is the first real sign that Christmas is on the horizon.

This year's event takes place on Wednesday (November 28), coinciding with the Truro's first late-night shopping event.

You can meet Father Christmas and his reindeer in Victoria Square from 6pm and then watch the procession around the city from 6.45pm.

This year the children travelling in the sleigh with Santa are those – or families of those – supported by Little Harbour, which is Children’s Hospice South West’s hospice in Cornwall, near St Austell.

There will be two ten-minute stops, one at High Cross and the other at Lemon Quay, before the parade heads back to Victoria Square. This will create further opportunities for spectators to see the reindeer and meet Santa as well as making it possible for other children connected to Little Harbour hospice to ride in the sleigh.

Truro's reindeer parade
Truro's reindeer parade

The Reindeer Route is: Victoria Square, Kenwyn Street, Little Castle Street, River Street, St Nicholas Street, King Street, High Cross, then back down King Street, Boscawen Street, Princes Street, Green Street, Lemon Quay, Lower Lemon Street, St Nicholas Street and Boscawen Street, then returning to Victoria Square.

The event, which is sponsored by Mallets Home Hardware, is managed this year by Truro City Council and the Truro Business Improvement District (BID).

There is a chance the event will be hit by terrible weather as it is happening when Storm Diana is forecast to hit Britain, with Cornwall bearing the brunt first alongside South West Ireland.

An area of ocean bigger than mainland Britain is set to be whipped up into a frenzy of huge waves by Storm Diana.

Weather models by surf report website Magicseaweed show a big black blob of giant swell is expected to form in the North Atlantic over the next 48 hours. And weather watchers UK Southwest Storm Chasers Ltd have backed the Met Office's 70mph wind warning for Devon and Cornwall, as Storm Diana begins gathering strength in the North Atlantic.

It comes after the Met Office issued two weather warnings for Cornwall ahead of Storm Diana.

The highest waves are expected to hit Cornwall and Devon at around 3pm on Wednesday
The highest waves are expected to hit Cornwall and Devon at around 3pm on Wednesday

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for Cornwall for wind across two days this week. The warning covers the whole county on Wednesday between 9am and 9pm followed by Thursday from 3am until 3pm.

Thursday is set to be more severe with the risk of a danger to life.

However, reindeer parade organisers are determined the festive seasonal event will carry on.

A spokeswoman for Truro BID said: "We will be continuing to monitor the weather. However, at this stage the reindeer parade is still planning to go ahead."