Stawell’s Main Street was like a sea of green and red as residents came together to celebrate the festive season with the town’s annual Christmas parade on Friday evening.
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Parents looked on and young children yelled out with excitement as a “record” amount of entrants and floats proceeded down Main Street.
Northern Grampians Shire Council Cr Karen Hyslop said it was one of the biggest parades she had experienced.
“It was a fantastic night, the parade had a record amount of entrants and it was well backed by the community,” she said.
Coordinator Kayleen Urquhart said a lot of work went into organising the parade, but it had paid off after seeing the positive reaction from the public.
“It was well supported by many organisations, community groups and local businesses and volunteers who also got involved,” she said.
“We had 20 different organisations and with the floats we had the Car Club which had about seven, so overall there were about 35 floats.
“It went really well and definitely an improvement on last year.”
Ms Urquhart said a Christmas parade was crucial for a small town like Stawell.
“It’s really important to have because it promotes community spirit and that is why we want to get it right,” she said.
The buzz of Christmas was well and truly in the air.
But the atmosphere hit a higher note when voices, young and old, sang out Christmas carols across Cato Park.
Cr Hyslop said the ambience was “fantastic”.
“It was a perfect night with the weather but the crowds at the carols were just massive – it was great to see and added to a fantastic ambience,” she said.
“It was great to see so many mums and dads with their children.
“Without the community support we can’t have events like these so it is great to see it was supported by everyone.”
Stawell 502 Primary School won the $200 cash prize for the best float.
