DIRECTOR's MESSAGE
WOW! 2011 – what a Pageant!
The day started with Pageant perfect weather and this put everyone in an enthusiastic mood.
Pageant staff and volunteers started their day at Stardust Castle at 3.00am, with staff in the city arriving at 5.00am. By that time a large crowd was already in place, guarding their positions for family and loved ones who were coming later. Thermos flasks and reading morning papers by torchlight were the order of the morning and some little ones were already drawing potential masterpieces on the closed roadways. Characters and volunteers started flooding into South Terrace around 6.30am – getting made- up and dressed in costume while the scent of breakfast wafted across from the parklands where the Allianz crew worked their magic to provide the annual participant barbecue breakfast.
Between 9.10am and 9.20am we broke the Guinness World Record for the most people wearing red noses. A count of 16,092 was enough to succeed and we hope everyone participating had a good time doing it.
Then came the main event! The light was right, the spirits high and we witnessed an exceptionally colourful and lively Credit Union Christmas Pageant with floats looking fantastic and participants energetic and ready for fun. The notion of ‘celebrating the clown within’ was truly at work.
Finally the star of the Pageant appeared at the landing stage. Father Christmas blew warm kisses and waves to everyone who caught his eye and was safely delivered to the Magic Cave at David Jones.
The day started with Pageant perfect weather and this put everyone in an enthusiastic mood.
Pageant staff and volunteers started their day at Stardust Castle at 3.00am, with staff in the city arriving at 5.00am. By that time a large crowd was already in place, guarding their positions for family and loved ones who were coming later. Thermos flasks and reading morning papers by torchlight were the order of the morning and some little ones were already drawing potential masterpieces on the closed roadways. Characters and volunteers started flooding into South Terrace around 6.30am – getting made- up and dressed in costume while the scent of breakfast wafted across from the parklands where the Allianz crew worked their magic to provide the annual participant barbecue breakfast.
Then came the main event! The light was right, the spirits high and we witnessed an exceptionally colourful and lively Credit Union Christmas Pageant with floats looking fantastic and participants energetic and ready for fun. The notion of ‘celebrating the clown within’ was truly at work.
Thank you to all the Credit Union staff from People’s Choice, Community CPS Australia, Credit Union SA and Police Credit Union who played their roles to a tee. Thank you to the many volunteers who looked after makeup, marshals, mechanics, drivers. Thank you to the participants not from the Credit Unions, including dancers, bands, circus performers, clowns. To our sponsors and supporters thank you for all that you do to help bring this event to the streets of Adelaide and the people of South Australia.
Thank you also to Events South Australia and South Australian Tourism Commission staff for their assistance in the lead up to and on pageant day and to our media partners for their wonderful support.
Above all, thank you to our wonderful audience who came out in force to see the spectacle. We hope that all the visitors to our state also enjoyed the show! Without you the event would have no purpose.
We’re counting down the days to the 2012 Credit Union Christmas Pageant... see you there!
Brian Gilbertson
Pageant Manager and Creative Director
We’re counting down the days to the 2012 Credit Union Christmas Pageant... see you there!
Pageant Manager and Creative Director