Sunderland to celebrate Museum Shop Sunday with cultural offerings which make perfect local Christmas presents

Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens and National Glass Centre will be joining over 1,000 cultural organisations worldwide on Sunday December 1 by putting cultural shops in the spotlight.

Both venues will be opening cultural shops with products from local designers and makers, offering everyone who spends over £10 a free local souvenir that day.

The pop-up shops provide the perfect opportunity to start ticking things off family and friends’ Christmas lists, and to give something a little bit different this year, that can’t be found on the high street.

Keith Merrin, Chief Executive of Sunderland Culture, said: “Museum Shop Sunday is a great opportunity to support your local cultural shops and celebrate their role in helping arts, cultural and heritage attractions like ours to survive and thrive.”

To celebrate the local market, both locations will also have special guests on hand. At the Museum & Winter Gardens, local artist Alf Snell, will be giving some painting demonstrations while author Neil Sinclair will be holding a special book signing of his top-selling ‘Sunderland's Railways.’

Over at the National Glass Centre, Brian Jones of Wearside Glass will be demonstrating how he uses flameworked techniques to make glass animals, and Glenda Young, author historical novels set in Sunderland, will be holding a book signing and talk for her new title, Pearl of Pit Lane.

The events will take place on Sunday December 1 between 12pm-4pm.