Sleigh bells ring once again as Christchurch’s Santa parade makes a high-energy comeback

Monday, 27 November 2023

Christchurch’s Christmas parade is back following a four-year hiatus, with all its bells jingling and kids squealing with excitement.

Blue skies and warm temperatures welcomed the more than 35,000 people who attended Sunday’s high-energy parade, which was held for the first time at the Canterbury Agricultural Park.

Spectators lined the 2.2-kilometre route, more than 10-deep in places, to watch the hour-long parade, which included 500 participants and the return of some much-loved floats.

Superman was back, as was Lego float. The 70-year-old elephant also managed to make the journey under his own steam - for the first time in years - all while moving his trunk and squirting water into the crowd, much to the amusement of children and adults.

Disney princesses featured strongly, alongside super heroes. Knight Rider’s car Kitt even made an appearance to the delight of the slightly older kids in the crowd.

A giant Pikachu from the popular Pokémon series featured as did the boy wizard Harry Potter.

Chris Domigan, who grew up watching the parade, said the new version was fantastic.

“I have fond memories of it. It is a Christchurch staple. It’s great that it has come back.”

He took his five children, including three who were performing in the parade.

The parade was last held in 2019 in central Christchurch. Since then Covid, management issues and poor weather had scuppered plans.

The city’s streets are no longer deemed suitable for the parade. They were too narrow, had tram lines above them or were too busy to close off.

Ariana and Andrew Hawthorne, who have only recently moved to Christchurch from Wellington with their son Elijah, 2, said the floats were very detailed and there was so much variety.

Sarah Lovell, who caught the free Santa Express bus from town to the event with her six-year-old daughter Lilah, had never attended, but agreed the floats were beautiful. Lilah, meanwhile, loved the pre-parade rides the best.

The free event kicked off at 11am with $2 fair rides, performances, craft stalls and food trucks.

For four-year-old Zariah Hardaker there was only one highlight: seeing Santa on his sleigh surrounded by elves.

There were some hiccups. The giant drummer boy float, which always kicks off the show, broke down and could not finish and an old fire engine had to be pushed around the first part of the route after also breaking down.

The parade’s new director Jason Reekers said the drummer boy had been working fine in rehearsals, but was 60 years old now and a little temperamental.

Reekers said he was happy with how the event went but would make some tweaks for next year. The start of the parade had to be delayed because people were still arriving.

“It took some people an hour and a half to get into the place.”

The huge crowd showed there was still a demand for a Christmas parade, he said.

“I’ve got the first one under my belt now. We know it works.”

The event cost about $165,000 to put on. Much of the money was raised through sponsorship. The city council contributed $40,000.