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Christmas parade, up close and personal

Wednesday 28 November 2007, 6:31PM

By Palmerston North City Council

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PALMERSTON NORTH

When the organisers of Saturday’s Christmas parade say the floats will process through the Square, they mean it.


Usually the Christmas parade detours around the Square but this year Hotel Coachman event organisers, Leonie Hapeta and Belinda Johnson, have decided the route will take the large number of floats through the heart of the Square.


They have arranged for seating on either side of the route which will take the parade, which includes street performers, cheer girls, brass bands and popular characters from film and television, directly past I-Site and the cenotaph.


On hand will be about 60 volunteers from Palmerston North Rotary to help supervise the parade.


It will start on December 1 at 3pm and process from the railway land, along Church Street to Princess Street and then from Princess to Main Street, through the Square and back to the railway land.


Christmas past, Christmas present and Christmas future are the themes of this year’s City Council parade and are the inspiration of event contractor, the Hotel Coachman.


“The traditional themes allow a lot of scope for people to decorate their floats with a strong Christmas message. We want to encourage this,” Leonie Hapeta says.


This year Leonie and Belinda have organised community entertainment and attractions both before and after the parade giving the event more of a festival feeling.


There’ll be markets offering unique trinkets and gifts, face painting, kids amusement rides, displays and lots of giveaways. A stage will be erected in the Square for local acts from schools and music, drama and community groups to providing entertainment from 2-3pm in the afternoon.


Following the parade Santa will then return to the Square for children to meet and have their photo taken with him.


The star attraction on stage immediately following the parade from approximately 4-5pm will be stunning young singer, Jenna Baxter.


Jenna, who has impressed audiences in the lower half of the North Island with her musical theatre singing, left Freyberg High School at the end of last year to study at the Sydney Performing Arts course.


Her performance on December 1 will be her first engagement back in New Zealand since she left for Australia.


The Christmas Parade is sponsored by the City Council, More FM, Screen Vistas, Massey University, NZCT, Helipro and The Plaza.