New Floats in Sunday's Santa Parade
Santa Claus is coming to town for the 62nd parade through the streets of Wellington.
More than 60,000 people are expected to attend this Sunday's (13 November) Santa Parade so our advice is to get there early to grab the best viewing spots.
The Wellington Santa Parade has been going since 1949. Although the parade only went round the Basin Reserve, thousands of parents and children lined the footpaths to witness the capital's first real Christmas street spectacle.
Wellington City Council's events manager, Lauren Fantham, says the Santa Parade these days is a lot bigger, with more floats and different characters, but the philosophy behind it remains - a gift of festivity and fantasy for the children of the city.
The parade starts at 2pm on Sunday, at the corner of Lambton Quay and Ballance Streets. Before the parade, from 1pm, there will be a collection for the Wellington Children's Hospital.
If the parade is cancelled due to poor weather it will be held the following Sunday, 20 November. The cancellation will be announced on Newstalk ZB at 9am on Sunday (13th November). You can also find out by calling the Council information line on (04) 499 4444.
"This year Santa will be accompanied by some amazing new floats including an Egyptian, Circus, Treasure Island, Christmas Toy, Spaceship, Nativity and Buzzy Bee," says Lauren.
"The kids can also expect to see some of their favourite characters, including the Wot Wots, Spot the Dog, Peter Rabbit, SpongeBob SquarePants, Patrick Star, Dora the Explorer, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Tweety Pie and Bugs Bunny and Kung Fu Panda and of course Santa on his sleigh and reindeer."
The Santa Parade route has changed slightly this year. It starts at the corner of Lambton Quay and Ballance Street, travels down Lambton Quay to Willis Street then turns onto Mercer Street, along Victoria Street and into Manners Street where the parade ends.
The Capital E Santa's Party will be held in Civic Square after the parade and MCs Dave and Camille from Classic Hits will host the event. The party will get started under the silver fern disco ball with performances by Strike Percussion's Batterie 100, the ingenious Junk Monster Puppets and more. Capital E will also be offering free crafts and activities for kids, who are encouraged to get in on time to see Santa make a special appearance.
There will be a number of road closures and temporary parking restrictions in the central city on the day.
Lauren says people should, if possible, use public transport or walk into town if they can.
"We always encourage this for big events. Between the huge volumes of people coming into town and the road closures, traffic can often come to a standstill."
For bus and train information, go to Metlink's website or give them a call on 0800 801 700.