The skies may have been grey, but Oamaru's main street was a sea of colour for the annual Christmas parade on Saturday.
Organiser Anton Roswell estimated about 12,000 people filled Thames St for a glimpse of Santa Claus, the biggest turnout in recent years.
"You can sort of tell, when [the crowd] is three or four deep from Ribble St, right the way down," Mr Roswell said.
Central South Island Helicopters, the North Otago Aero Club and a fighter plane from Christchurch flew over the main street to start proceedings about 11am, then about 60 floats and community groups brought smiles to people of all ages as the parade moved through town.
"Part of the reason why I do it is ... putting a smile on that little 2-year-old, 3-year-old’s face, and their mum and dad’s, and their nana and granddad’s," he said.
"It’s quite difficult to do that with anything, but I think that’s what we’ve achieved ... we put a smile on people’s faces, and you can’t buy that — and we only do it for that."
Mr Roswell was delighted with the support of the community and businesses in a challenging year.
"It’s impossible to do it without the sponsors, and it’s even harder nowadays, post-lockdown — but we did it, so a massive thanks to them," he said.
After the parade, Santa Claus made an appearance at the second annual Christmas in the North End at Roberts Park.
The free event was a way for business owners to thank the community for its support, co-organiser Raelene Guthrie said.
There were free gifts for under-10s, face painting, and a sausage sizzle.
Bubble blowing, outdoor games, a talent quest and a baby show were all part of the fun, too.
Despite pouring rain that started about two hours after the event began, most of the activities were able to be completed and "it all went off really well", Mrs Guthrie said.
