Freshwater residents, businesses and community groups turned out last Friday night, for Freshwater’s Late Night Christmas shopping evening, despite relentless rain that would have cancelled a lesser event.
Shops opened, stallholders set up, artists stayed the course and our new councillors worked side-by-side with staff to keep the evening moving. Thank you to everyone who showed up and to Mel for supporting the Freshwater Parish Council’s publicity push.
Pupil’s performance
The children of Freshwater and Yarmouth School lifted the whole evening with their performance in the library. Small but significant moments – a child in Wessex thrilled with a Pokemon sticker book, the Skatepark Shop giving away their lucky dip – cut through the weather and reminded everyone why these community events matter.
In an area where child poverty is a real pressure, acts of generosity land hard.
A demonstration of collective resilience
The weather forced us off the script we planned, but what emerged was more important: a demonstration of collective resilience and local pride.
Residents, traders and volunteers created a night that worked because people refused to let it fail. Even the impromptu sing-along in the Vine Inn became part of the story.
Next late-night shopping event
Freshwater goes again on the 19th December 2025 – and if the skies cooperate, so much the better.
What last Friday night proved is that the community will be there either way.
Thank you to Pete Johnstone for capturing the night in photographs.
News shared by Becca Cameron, councillor for Freshwater South. Ed
