Announcing Christmas on the Avenue were, from left, Apex’s Damien Trenwith and Craig Sinclair, Council Events Coordinator Ryan Sutherland, GFG Alliance Whyalla’s Group Manager Environment Chris Smyth, Liberty Primary Steel Managing Director Tony Swiericzuk, Whyalla Music Association’s Alexander.Ian, Whyalla Show Society President Tamy Pond, and Council’s CEO Justin Commons and Events & Volunteer Officer Jenna Cruse.
Christmas on the Avenue
19 September 2023
Key points:
- Whyalla City Council has agreed to organise this year’s GFG Alliance Christmas Pageant due to Apex being unable to organise the event
- The tight timeframe means a different approach is required, now combining with the Whyalla Community Christmas Carols to become ‘Christmas on the Avenue’ – along Nicolson Avenue and Civic Park
- This will create a bigger, more centrally-located and accessible event for the whole community
- Without combining the events and drawing on the resources of Carols organisers, the pageant wouldn’t be able to go ahead
- Council will seek community feedback after this year’s event to gauge the preferred format
- The event management will be passed on to community groups for next year
Whyalla City Council has agreed to coordinate this year’s GFG Alliance Christmas Pageant, with previous organisers Apex struggling for volunteers and unable to give the pageant the attention it needs.
Council CEO Justin Commons said the tight timeframe to organise an event of this size ‘from scratch’ meant Council would need to approach this year’s event differently, opting to combine the pageant with the Whyalla Community Christmas Carols to become ‘Christmas on the Avenue’ – based entirely along Nicolson Avenue before transitioning to Civic Park.
“The only way we can organise the pageant in a matter of weeks is to partner with an existing event in the Carols, as well as drawing on the outstanding expertise of its organisers – the Whyalla Show Society,” Mr Commons said.
“Positively, this will create a natural alignment between these two much-loved events, while the central location is expected to be more accessible to the whole community. It is anticipated that having the pageant flow on to the Carols and Christmas fair in Civic Park will deliver a far larger, more exciting Christmas experience for local families to enjoy on Saturday 9 December.
“We understand some people in the community may not agree with this decision – indeed there were many points of view at our Council meeting on Monday night, where it was discussed at length – but we do not have the capacity or resources to organise a standalone event within the time available, meaning there would likely be no pageant this year without this option.”
Mr Commons said Council will be seeking community feedback after this year’s event to gauge which format is preferred, before aiming to pass the event management on to interested community group/s to co-ordinate next year’s pageant.
“We’d like to thank Apex for their tireless efforts over many years of organising the pageant and encourage the community to support this new approach,” he said.
“It will provide an opportunity for our community to experience a different format this year, so they can then decide if it’s something they’d like to see ongoing, or whether they prefer the traditional City Plaza location.”
Apex President Damien Trenwith said it was unfortunate Apex was unable to organise the event, but a lack of volunteers meant it was no longer feasible for the group.
“I’d like to thank Council for offering to coordinate the pageant this year – I’m sure it will be a great spectacle along Nicolson Avenue and continue to be something the community truly enjoys,” Mr Trenwith said.
Mr Commons encouraged the community to enter a float in this year’s pageant to help make it bigger than ever, with registrations opening soon – keep an eye on Council’s socials for more detail.