Santa almost ready to roll (+ video)

Dunedin Santa Parade Trust volunteer Carmel Wilson works on a new float for this Sunday's event....
Dunedin Santa Parade Trust volunteer Carmel Wilson works on a new float for this Sunday's event. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

Preperations for this year's Dunedin Santa Parade are stepping up as new floats are prepared to go with the old standards.

The annual event is in its 18th year and, as has become custom, a couple of mystery floats will be unveiled when the event gets under way at 3pm on Sunday.

Of the 74 floats set to line up in George St, 35 are provided by the Dunedin Santa Parade Trust and the finishing touches were being applied this week, trust chairman Mark Laughton said.

''Preparations are really all year round, but it ramps up in the last two weeks,'' he said.

''There's a lot of last-minute work.''

Details of the new floats were kept under wraps and would be revealed to the thousands of people expected to turn out for the parade.

Volunteers had been working overtime to complete the floats and gather up 180 children from around Dunedin to ride on them and wear costumes, he said.

Trustee Michelle Ellwood said the parade, the biggest free event in Dunedin all year, extended beyond the hour and a-half procession down George St.

The Warehouse's central Dunedin store had again volunteered to visit the Dunedin Hospital children's ward on the morning of the parade to give out presents, she said.

There would also be a free concert, led by New Zealand Gold Guitar Awards 2015 winner Kelvin Cummings, of Dunedin.

Mr Laughton said the trust raised $85,000 to run the event each year, with the help of the Dunedin City Council and various local businesses and charities.

damian.george@odt.co.nz

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement