Santa is usually the biggest attraction at the Whangārei Christmas Parade - but he won't be in Whangārei this year. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Santa is usually the biggest attraction at the Whangārei Christmas Parade - but he won't be in Whangārei this year. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Four years after the Te Kamō Christmas Parade was cancelled, the popular Whangārei Christmas Parade will not be returning this year.
A perfect storm around a lack of sponsors, costs and timeframes has led to the much-anticipated event not going ahead, organisers said.
A spokesperson for the Whangārei Christmas Parade Committee, Sue Hill of Rotary Club Whangārei South, told the Advocate theyshare in the disappointment of the community.
Hill organises the parade alongside Ray Topia of the Whangārei Lions Club and Kelly Jelavich of the Hikurangi Lions Club.
“We are really gutted that we haven’t been able to get this sorted. We really would have loved to be able to give that [to the community].”
By this time, usually half of the floats are registered, road closures and traffic management procedures are organised, and business owners have signed off on the route.
This year, things have not gone their way. Despite Whangārei District Council’s events team putting their hands up to help foot some of the cost, there’s much more to be done.
Organisers are disappointed the hugely popular parade can't go ahead. Photo / Michael Cunningham
“I feel bad because we haven’t been able to put it together. I feel like we’re letting the community down ... but it’s not something that can be pulled together within a month or two.”
This year’s news comes after the fate of the 2022 parade was hanging by a thread.
“We didn’t even know until the night before it we were all go,” she said.
“We were on the knife edge last year.”
Hill wants to reassure frequent participants and parade-watchers this will not be the last of the Whangārei event, and is simply a short-lived cancellation.
They have every intention of making sure next year’s festivities go ahead, but are seeking more help from organisations, potential sponsors and new committee members.
Previous articles by the Advocate show part of the reason behind the dropping of the Te Kamō and Onerahi Christmas parades was also the bureaucracy involved.
Te Kamō Christmas Parade was a keystone event in Northland for over 40 years, and Whangārei Christmas Parade was to replace it.
The good news is that three parades will still go ahead in Northland this year - in Hikurangi, Waipū and Kaitāia.
The Hikurangi Mountain Lions’ Christmas Parade will be on December 9.
The final date for the Waipū Christmas Parade is still up in the air as Promote Waipū and the community grapple with traffic management not being available on their traditional event date of December 24.
The Kāitāia parade had its fair share of troubles, with bad behaviour threatening the future of the parade last year.
“I believe last year, we were really lucky to not have any incidents. We’re really wary this year that it could potentially escalate.”
That’s why she’s put the call out to around 50 people from a range of organisations to support them to ensure the event goes on without a hitch.
She said the event going ahead is “all about the community coming in”, as well as key organisations, and noted “carrying the mantle” of such events is not easy.
“I commend everyone in these spaces.”
“There’s a lot of dread and weight on you.” But Tipene said the results are “worth it”.
Brodie Stone is the education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie recently graduated from Massey University and has a special interest in the environment and investigative reporting.
