Published on 16 October 2018

Christmas at Christies

This year’s City of Onkaparinga Christmas Pageant is set to take merry to a new level, with a heightened Christmas spirit and a higher standard of floats than ever before.

Commencing at 10am on Sunday 18 November, floats will take the usual route through the heart of Christies Beach from Perry Street, down Beach Road to Rotary Park on the Esplanade, where Christmas in the Park will be staged from 11am until 1pm.

There will be plenty of family fun in the park, including live entertainment, children’s activities, and of course, the jolly man, Santa.

This year’s event also sees council partner with Colonnades Shopping Centre, which is sponsoring the prize for best overall float, and many Beach Road traders will offer specials on the day, including Mark Lawlor from the Espy Bakehouse and Andrew Sutton of CJ’s Bakery. Mark’s business broke its coffee sales record at last year’s pageant, selling a week’s worth of coffee in just one hour. He describes the atmosphere as “electric”.

“It’s good to see the council, business community and residents interacting for the festive season,” Mark says. He encourages local traders to get into the pageant spirit and decorate their shop-fronts.

This will be the eighth year CJ’s Bakery has hosted a free pageant breakfast and games such as ‘eat the donut off the string’. Owner Andrew Sutton says the pageant is a good opportunity to thank customers for their support. “It is awesome to see Beach Road come alive every year,” he says.