The world’s favourite beagle Snoopy will be switching on Battersea’s Northcote Road Christmas lights next Friday.
The lovable character from new film Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie will turn the lights on at 5pm on the corner of Bennerley Road on November 27.
He will be accompanied by carol singers from nearby schools Honeywell, Belleville and Bolingbroke Academy at 7pm.
Chairman of the Northcote Business Network and head of Battersea’s Hampton’s International, Jonathan Dyson, said: “It’s a funny old street. I’m trying to say this without sounding cheesy, but it’s a community where everybody feels part of something greater than just themselves.
“There are very few shops that don’t participate in pulling together and making Christmas happen.
“I can count on less than one hand those that don’t get involved.”
Jonathan explained that it’s this sense of community between the commons which makes Christmas so special on the Northcote Road.
He said: “A lot of the shops don’t make much more money over the weekend itself, but people keep coming back to the street in the weeks after.”
This year the all-new White Christmas Fair will see more than 100 traders, fun fair rides, live music and masses of mince pies served on November 28.
For the first time ever two marquees on the parallel Webb’s Road will host live music and a bar area for revellers.
Jonathan said: “We didn’t originally have a Christmas fair, just a light switch on in the evening, then some shops started serving mulled wine, and two years ago we invited traders from our summer fair to come back.
“There were 70 stalls last year, and there will be 100 stalls this year on a separate day.
“Hamptons itself will be hosting Santa’s grotto in the boardroom on Friday and Saturday from 4pm to 7pm. Last year, we saw 500 children in three hours. It was carnage!”
The weekend’s events are organised by Northcote Business Network and the Traders Association of Webb’s Road, supported by other local businesses, the Clapham Junction Town Centre Partnership and Wandsworth Council.
Image courtesy of Blue Sky Studios, 20th Century Fox Animation via YouTube, with thanks
