A SHOPPING centre is preparing for two special visitors this weekend when the annual Christmas light switch-on takes place.
The festivities will begin at Hartlepool's Middleton Grange Shopping Centre on Saturday at 11am with a parade to mark Santa's arrival. It will feature the Dixie Men Jazz Band, Val Armstrong School of Dancers and costume characters, who will make their way through the malls before culminating in Central Square at Santa's grotto.
Santa's grotto will be open from Saturday until Christmas Eve. There will also be a fully animatronic Santa with music and messages informing shoppers about the activities taking place in the centre over Christmas.
On Sunday, Bart Simpson will be the celebrity switching on the centre's lights at 4pm. He will be supported by Radio Hartlepool and by two stilt walking Christmas trees.
There will also be an opportunity for youngsters to have their photographs taken with Bart and Rudolph.
Cormac Hamilton, centre manager at Middleton Grange, said: "I am expecting this year's Christmas light switch on and Santa's arrival to be bigger and better than ever, and I am confident it will be a fun day for all the family."
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