Banners around the town are promoting the annual Barnet Classic Car Show on Sunday 19 May -- and what promises to be an engaging weekend starts on Saturday afternoon with the return of Arkley community fayre at Brickfield Lane.

Both events break new ground.

Highlight of the car show will be a line up nine Lotus cars in celebration of the innovative designs of automotive engineer Colin Chapman who lived in New Barnet where he designed the Lotus Seven.

The car show will feature a line-up of 120 classic and vintage cars.

After a parade of cars along the High Street from 10.30am they will all be on display on the top deck of The Spires car park until 3pm.

At the Arkley village fayre – which is back after a break of some years – one of the top attractions is a fun dog show (12.45pm to 4.15pm). All owners and their dogs are welcome and entry to the show is free.

Organisers of the fayre – from 12noon to 5pm on Saturday 18 May – are promising a fun day for all the family with a wide array of stalls, entertainment, and refreshments.

To help promote the classic car show, one club member has loaned a Morgan pedal car which is on display in the front window of Visible Changes in Barnet High Street.

Lotus sports cars have pride of place at this year’s show because of Barnet’s link to one of the legendary marques of the British car industry.

Lotus Cars’ founder Colin Chapman lived in New Barnet in the 1950s and it was in a cottage just off Clifford Road that he and his team produced the original design of the company’s classic model, the Lotus Seven.

Chris Martin, one of the Barnet club’s Lotus Seven owners, has recruited nine different models of Lotus cars to take part in the show, plus two other makes designed by Chapman and Lotus engineers.

As the club has already reached its limit of 120 cars potential participants are having to be turned away.

Arkley village fayre is to be held on the village field at Brickfield Lane. It is the first community fete since the covid shutdown, and the organisers are planning a fun day out for all the family.

Entry is free and a host of events are being arranged, including face painting, bouncy castle, children’s games, Punch and Judy, and plenty of stalls. The raffle draw is at 4.30pm.

A wide array of refreshments will be available ranging from traditional cream teas to a selection of West Indian and Asian food.

The organisers hope the dog show will prove a real attraction with lots of different categories including rescue dogs; the best-looking canines, Miss Arkley, and Mr Arkley; a prize for the best doggy trick; and a junior section on dog handling for anyone under 16.

Hosting the show will be Rachel Burke of dog groomers Beauty Barks of Borehamwood, who says events like this are such fun, especially for families.

“We are hoping for 100 plus dogs – all shapes and sizes are welcome, any age. There will be lots of rosettes and prizes to be won.”