Santa Parade Adds Gala Event To Festivities

Invercargill’s Santa Parade just gets better every year, and organisers are busy getting ready for a family gala afternoon to follow the main event.

Event manager Alice Pottinger said the original 3km circuit around the city would be back with floats and entertainers, so that all the groups that missed out during the Covid restrictions could come back and be part of it.

The parade would also start an hour earlier and assemble as usual on Gala Street, following the parade a static display will be setup on Gala reserve, for an afternoon of family activities.

Held annually on the last Saturday in November by the Southland Christmas Parade Charitable Trust, the event first started back in 1999, and has in the past attracted a crowd of between 17,000 and 20,000 people.

Alice said the focus this year would also be on schools and young ones that were interested in showcasing their talent.

“We have listened to the people and the community want more.  So we thought, how do we do this without creating a whole new event?”

Rather than having stallholders in the reserve they would focus more on the school entertainment, as well as buskers, but there would also be food available.

Last year three new floats were added to the event, including the Christmas parcel, Christmas cake and a dragon called Scorch.

“We have done a lot of work on those over the last 7-8 years,” she said.