Parade entries open

Santa will be making his mandatory pre-Christmas visit to Cambridge.

Cambridge will go international at Christmas as its annual float parade shapes up for an “around the world theme.”

The parade will be stayed on December 1 and will be coordinated by Destination Cambridge, which says entries will be accepted from now until November 22.

Last year’s parade was fully subscribed with 50 Floats and organisers say based on interest to date they expect the same number again.

The parade will start at 2pm, and is expected to last around 45 minutes

Judging will be based on evidence of a Christmas around the world theme, aesthetic appeal, colour and vibrancy, people involvement with the float in the parade and how they move and relate to the crowd and originality and novelty.

The parade will be assisted by grants from Pub Charity and the Cambridge Community Board and has New World Sponsorship. Waipa District Council is also supporting the parade through traffic management.

Destination Cambridge chief executive Miff Macdiarmid said without the funding it would be a different event.

She acknowledged the support of Logan and Nicola McKenzie and their team at New World as being invaluable to the parade.

They sponsored the event and were also there on the day as part of the volunteer crew.

“Vicki Ewing is again taking on the role as our Specialist Parade coordinator and she does a sterling job in making it a seamless, safe, and fun day for all”.

The categories for this year’s Floats will be – Schools, Community Groups, Pre-Schools and Business. The overall winner will be chosen from the category winners.   Category sponsors also include Kaz Designs, GW Scott & Associates and Picture Show Ltd.

Volunteers from Cambridge Rotary, New World Cambridge, Waipa District Council and the Cambridge i-SITE will contribute to a team of 50 responsible for Health and Safety.

Entry forms for the 50 places available are available from the Cambridge i-SITE by calling in, phoning on 07-823-3456, or contacting by email – [email protected].

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