Fergus the North Pole Fire Engine was unveiled today, learning the ropes at the MFS ahead of his Credit Union Christmas Pageant debut on 12 November 2011

Fergus was officially launched with the help of students from St Martins Catholic Primary School and resident firefighters at the Adelaide Fire Station.

Brian Gilbertson, Event Manager and Creative Director said that the fantastic looking fire engine had taken many hours of craftsmanship to produce and incorporated festive, snow spraying technology.

“Fergus has been learning the ropes today from the MFS ahead of his debut at the Credit Union Christmas Pageant on 12 November," he said.

“It makes perfect sense to have Fergus make his first public outing at MFS headquarters, further strengthening the relationship between major events and emergency services in SA," Mr Gilbertson said.

Fergus is the fifth new float to be revealed for the 2011 Pageant.

Fergus is the official fire engine of the North Pole. He is in charge of keeping the North Pole safe from fires.

Fergus puts out fires with snow instead of water and will be spraying snow on Pageant audiences on 12 November.

Peter Evers, Chair, Credit Union Christmas Pageant Company, said the credit unions expected Fergus to be a new crowd favourite.

“Every little child loves a fire engine and Fergus’ bright red colour, coupled with him spraying snow is sure to delight the crowd at this year’s event and beyond," Mr Evers said.

MFS Commander, Michael Morgan, said the MFS would be providing post pageant fun on Saturday, 12 November.

An official MFS Open Day will be held on pageant day at Adelaide Fire Station, Wakefield Street, from 11.15 am to 3.00 pm.

“We are delighted to have Fergus the North Pole Fire Engine at MFS headquarters today. It is a fun activity for St Martins Catholic Primary School children who are here on a school visit and a great interaction for our team," he said.

More than 300,000 people are expected to line the Pageant route as Father Christmas makes his way from South Terrace to the Magic Cave at David Jones.

In 2011 the Pageant will be travelling a slightly different route along Flinders Street due to construction works along Grenfell Street. Event organisers encourage pageant-goers to study the route map carefully. The new route map can be viewed at www.cupageant.com.au

Pageant-goers are also encouraged to arrive early and take part in the Guinness World Record attempt, at the largest gathering of people wearing red noses, starting at 9.10am.

The Credit Union Christmas Pageant is owned and managed by the South Australian Tourism Commission on behalf of the South Australian Government and sponsored by four leading credit unions in South Australia – People’s Choice Credit Union, Community CPS Australia, Credit Union SA and Police Credit Union.

Visit www.cupageant.com.au for more information and to download the 2011 Credit Union Christmas Pageant Media Kit.

For further information contact:

Michele D’Aloia on 0417 837 896 or michele.daloia@bigpond.com
Jessica Hurt on 0412 784 587 or jessica.hurt@tourism.sa.com