Hamilton beaming with Christmas spirit

Christmas hasn’t even arrived yet but it has already been a huge success in Hamilton City.

For the first time, representatives from around Hamilton have joined forces to co-ordinate the city’s main Christmas events – creating an official guide to all things festive in Hamilton.

The organisations involved include Hamilton City Council, Hamilton Christmas Parade and Tree Trust, Harrowfield, the Temple View Christmas Lights, Trees at the Meteor and Hamilton Central Business Association.

Christmas in the City began on 1 December with crowds attending the lighting of New Zealand’s largest Christmas tree. The tree was switched on by Hamilton Mayor Julie Hardaker and five year old Olivia Livingstone who won the opportunity through an auction as part of a fundraising event for the Child Cancer Foundation.

The city has hosted a number of other unique events over the month including:

• Hamilton Christmas Parade
• Go Bus tours around Templeview and Harrowfield lights
• Kids' Christmas Carnival
• Trees at the Meteor
• Christmas Cheer with the Mayor.

 

For Mayor Julie Hardaker, it has been wonderful to see the city embracing the Christmas spirit.

“It’s great to see so many people out enjoying the Christmas lights and events in Hamilton. One highlight for me was meeting people at Christmas Cheer with the Mayor and sharing the beautiful view of our magnificent Christmas tree and Garden Place being light up.”

For many, the free Go Bus tours were a highlight of the month, proving so popular that an extra tour had to be put on.

From bus driver Angela Alexander's perspective, the tours were a lot of fun and a highlight of the year.

“We received so much positive feedback that was really neat to hear and very special. People of all ages jumped on board and were all in the Christmas spirit – I even got a lot of thank you hugs and kisses!”

The tours were not only a way to see the amazing lights on show but also offered  a chance for people to see a part of the city they don’t usually visit.

For Mayor Julie Hardaker Christmas in the City could not have been pulled together without such great community support.

“I pass on many thanks to the sponsors of these events, especially Go Bus and Grassroots Trust, who have come on board with the new Christmas City ideas this year.”