Light Up Hassocks

Welcome to Hassocks Life’s Light Up Hassocks information page. Here you will find our most recent information for all things Light Up Hassocks.

See also, Light Up Hassocks on Facebook

IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM THE ORGANISERS OF LIGHT UP HASSOCKS - 5th DEC

Dear Friends and supporters,

it is with very heavy hearts that we write to tell you that due to the weather warnings in place from tomorrow we’ve had dramatically reduce the scope of tomorrow's event for everyone’s safety and that will sadly change how Light Up Hassocks will operate.

We have not made these decisions lightly as it affects 200+ stakeholders involved as well as the many hundreds of residents and visitors who attend. But we need to make decisions based on the information available and within safety tolerances, as well as ensuring we give as much notice as we can.

Unfortunately, there will be no stage, funfair or parade elements, no stalls exterior to shops, and the road will not be closed. The choir performance and the Christmas lights switch-on will now take place at the Hassocks Hotel-details to follow.

Please come out and support your local shops, eat, drink and shop INDOORS and enjoy all the wonderful things they have planned. We certainly will be.

Let’s still come together as a community to kick off the festive season in the safest way possible!

---

The winner of the Light Up Hassocks poster competition 2024 is Quentin! Congratulations Quentin, who will be turning on the lights at Light Up Hassocks.

Light Up Hassocks 2024 are getting ready for the evening event scheduled for Friday 6th December.

If you’re a local artisan/producer/business and are interested in having a stall please contact us via lightuphassocks@gmail.com in advance.

KEYMER ROAD CLOSED:
Please remember, from 4-8pm on Friday 6th December 2024, Keymer Road will be closed from Woodsland Road to the car park entrance behind The Sussex Grocer. 

Additionally, Keymer Road will be closed from the mini roundabout by Station Approach East to Clerks Acre for the parade from approximately 4.15 to 5.15pm. The road closure will affect bus routes and a diversion will be in place via New Road. Access will be maintained for emergency vehicles, but all other traffic will be asked to wait or diverted. Please advise visitors or carers well in advance.

Light Up Hassocks returns this December 2023

Ella’s winning design of Christmas poster competition

By The Light Up Hassocks Team

After Light Up Hassocks 2022, we bade farewell to Bernard O’Rourke of Sussex Vale Rotary. We take great pleasure in knowing he’ll be able to enjoy the event as a resident this year, and we hope he’ll be proud of us.

We are lucky enough to have a, admittedly a very small but nonetheless, fantastic team who have worked incredibly hard to prepare for Friday 1st December. We listened carefully to feedback and know there have been challenges with lighting near the bridge. We also faced uncertainty around Halfords which led us to think about new locations for our stage.

This year, we’ve condensed stalls into a smaller area, moved the stage to Chancellors Park, and, with thanks to the Parish Council, we’ve invested in some hefty lights. We’re taking a more environmentally conscious approach, and traders are being asked to avoid single-use plastics wherever possible. We’ll be providing recycling bins in addition to waste bins. We have all the usual favourites: a parade with Burgess Hill Marching Youth band leading the serenade at Villa Adastra, the Hassocks Infant School and Windmills choirs, funfair, games, fabulous food and drink stalls, arts and crafts and live music from the very talented Stanmer Band.

We’re kicking the festivities off with the poster competition, hosted by Sussex Vale Rotary, at Hassocks Infant School. Children design a Christmas poster, and the winning entry becomes the poster for the next Light Up Hassocks. The winning designer gets to turn the Christmas lights on! Ella won 2022’s competition and we hope she enjoys seeing her artwork here (right), and all around the village very soon!

It wouldn’t be Christmas without the fabulous window displays created by our wonderful traders each year, so we’re delighted to announce that Art Groups 1 and 2 from u3a will be judging the windows this year in the week commencing 20th November. The winner and two runners-up will be announced on the night, and competition is going to be fierce…

Let us end by saying we’ve been talking with the elves at the North Pole and they’ve sprinkled a bit of magic dust on our Santa hats, so look out for some extra sparkle!

Useful information about Light Up Hassocks

Keymer Road will close at 4pm and re-open at 8pm.

The roads that meet Keymer Road (Dale Avenue, Grand Avenue, Parklands Road, Chancellors Park, Downsview) will be closed at the Keymer Road end.

The road closure will be extended up to Clerk’s Acre between 4.15pm and 5.15pm when we march up to Villa Adastra. We ask that all lay-bys be emptied by 3pm so that our stallholders can set up in good time. Please avoid driving into the centre of the village after 2.30pm if you can.

We’d particularly ask you to avoid Chancellors Park where Mid Sussex Radio and our team will be setting up the stage next to Bennett Oakley Solicitors. If you or a neighbour have carers, please help us to make sure this information gets to the carers so that they aren’t surprised by the road closure on the night.
Of course, in the event of a medical or other blue lights emergency, we will help vehicles through, but they will have to be escorted and that takes a little time.

More information about stalls and the timetable see the Facebook page @LightUpHassocks
For more information about the event, road closures, or joining us a marshal or volunteer for this year or next year, reach us at lightuphassocks@gmail.com.

Finding the elves on shelves in Hassocks again this December 2022

Marchants Estate Agents Elf on a shelf

By Bennita Adair George, Marchants Estate Agents

At Marchants, we are thrilled to once again be bringing the elves back to Hassocks High Street this December! Raising money for St Peter and St James Hospice is the main aim, but the event does so much more than just fundraise. It adds a sense of Christmas joy to the school walks home, evening dog walks or even daily commute.

Our local stores here in Hassocks have served the community with smiles and open doors for many years, especially in the hard times, and it is great to unite and welcome a bit of lighthearted fun!

Each elf will be hiding in the shop windows, just follow the elf trail and donate your £1 at the final point to be entered into the prize raffle! Elf trail maps can be collected outside Marchants Estate Agents from 1st December.