ANOTHER year, another success.
That’s how Healesville Chamber of Commerce president Graham Taylor looks back at the latest Healesville Christmas Festival which drew more than 1000 people to the town’s main street.
The festival has been organised by the Chamber each year, through business and public contributions, and Mr Taylor said the 19 December festival was the largest yet.
“It was hard to judge, but at different times there was between 1000 and 1500 people in the main street,” he said.
Residents from around the valley flocked to the town for the annual festival, clamouring to try the children’s rides, visit the animal farm or the jumping castles, take a journey on a horse-and-cart and to get a photo with the man himself – Santa Claus.
The entire event was run free-of-charge, and was held from 4pm to 7pm – immediately after Healesville’s primary schools finished their last day of the year.
Mr Taylor said the large turnout to the event was a testament to members the organising committee who spent months labouring over details and organising attractions for the festival.
And the largest sign of the event’s success was the amount of children filling the closed-off section of Nicholson Street (Maroondah Highway) to play on the rides.
“The kids had a great time – there were queues at all of the rides – and everybody seemed to have a ball,” Mr Taylor said.
Parents were well catered to at the event by local businesses, which opened their doors for some late night, last-minute Christmas shopping or the chance to sit and enjoy a coffee.
“It was a perfect day for it, we’re thrilled with the result and look forward to doing it next year,” Mr Taylor said.
