Westwood Cross Shopping Centre has hosted a special family to hand over a Christmas surprise.
Led by nine-year-old Harmony Morgan-Young, the Sandwich family of five switched on the centre’s new Christmas light spectacular, the ‘Northern Lights’.
The ‘Northern Lights’ show takes place from 4pm daily until January 6 in the Compass area of the centre, near Debenhams. Until Christmas eve, the free, projected show includes a glimpse of Father Christmas as he flies across the night sky.
Harmony was joined by mum Rebecca, dad Aaron and brothers Marley, seven, and Ralphy, five, for the big switch on.
Harmony has been battling Ewing’s Sarcoma and having to shield and isolate while receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy Her determination, strength and courage has kept her family from falling apart and earned her a spot in The Isle of Thanet News heroes of 2020 list.
Not only that but Harmony raised £3600 for Sarcoma UK and has continued to raise awareness to as many people as she can, all alongside fighting cancer.
She is also is a keen collector of teddy bears which are sold by H Samuel to raise money for CLIC Sargent, a charity supporting young people with cancer and their families.
After the switch on, the family were taken to H Samuel where the store manager surprised them with a collection of the CLIC Sargent bears and a hamper for mum and dad. Gifts were also donated by Westwood Cross, Greggs and M&S.
Francesca Donovan, Centre Manager at Westwood Cross, said: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to bring a little bit of Christmas magic to a special local family. The children helped to switch on our new Northern Lights display with a fantastic Christmas countdown, and colleagues around the shopping centre gave the family the most wonderful gifts.”
The Northern Lights show will run daily from 4pm-8pm and has been specially designed to take place several times an hour, ensuring there is no need for visitors to gather to watch the projections and social distancing can be maintained.
The centre’s Christmas display has also been enhanced, with two new light installations consisting of giant walk-through baubles, perfect for a festive selfie.
The Main Mall hosts the Christmas market, with log cabins offering a range of Christmas gifting options whilst the Viking Ship is once again home to the centre’s giant reindeer.
The centre has heightened security and increased cleaning, a one way system, queue management, informative floor vinyl and hand sanitation stations.
For more information, visit westwoodx.co.uk