Tumby Bay turned out in droves on Friday, December 22, for the annual Tumby Bay Lions Club Christmas Parade.
More than 30 entrants in the parade entertained locals and visitors as it travelled from the Uringa Retirement Village in Wibberley Street where the band entertained the residents; then down the esplanade and around the main town centre to Father Christmas’s final destination at the Sea Breeze Hotel with parade entrants congregating at the Traveller’s Rest.
From the opening float, led by the local police escort, presenting the formidable dragon boat club’s racing boat, to the coffee shop gingerbread men, Home Sweet Home on wheels, Bluey, and the kindergarten pirates, to mention just a few of the entrants, the crowd was thoroughly entertained for more than half an hour as the entrants and floats slowly made their way through town.
Outstanding was the display of bicycles, vintage, show, and shine cars, entrants from the Country Fire Service, and Search and Rescue trucks, hot rods, bicycles, and motorbikes.
A tableau of Bethlehem’s manger, baby Jesus, wise men and angels provided a recognition of the reason behind Christmas, while the horse and buggy, an 1880 Abbott Buggy, driven by 91-year-old Bruce Mills and Julie Elliott behind ex-trotter Mac were a highlight of the parade.
Father Christmas made his entrance in a flash yellow Corvette before his final destination on the verandah of the hotel to wave to the assembled crowd.
Hundreds of lollies were distributed to the crowds as the procession travelled along the route.
The finale to the parade was the Lions Club’s musical flatbed truck with a five-piece band providing the musical background for a magnificent program of Christmas songs from Rosemary Hausler.
Leading the band was David Pearson on bass, with Christine Charlton at the keyboard, Bill Polain on slide trombone, Lyn Cockburn on violin, and George Charlton providing the beat behind the drums.
The fabulous parade was preceded by the annual Christmas traders trail, with parents and kids visiting many of the local business houses where they were rewarded with gifts and entertainment.
Onlookers estimated the crowd to be about 300 people who gathered in the central business district of Tumby Bay.
“After the hiatus of the Covid disruption to our annual event, the turn out of entrants and the high quality of the floats and costumes, it is pleasing to see the community cohesion that the Tumby Lions club’s investment in this event has galvanised,” a Lions spokesperson said.
“Hopefully, we have now ironed out some of the impediments to this event without exorbitant overhead costs to enable it to continue to have bigger and better presentations in future years.”
