{"id":165676,"date":"2016-12-09T01:45:53","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T15:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=165676"},"modified":"2020-09-30T10:18:25","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T00:18:25","slug":"santa-gets-a-hot-reception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2016\/12\/09\/santa-gets-a-hot-reception\/","title":{"rendered":"Santa Gets A Hot Reception"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Father Christmas with his good mate Blazer the Bear … Santa hitched a lift with the Kingaroy firies to make it to the Christmas Carnival on time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 9, 2016<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kingaroy’s annual Christmas Carnival on Thursday night was a little bit different this year because – for the first time in a long time – the rain held off until it was almost over.<\/p>\n

Although large cumulus clouds threatened to dump their payload most of the evening, Santa Claus enjoyed a dry reception when local police and fire services dropped him off to pose for photos and take Christmas gift wishes from youngsters.<\/p>\n

As usual, CBD portions of Kingaroy Street and Haly Street were sealed off by SES volunteers so Carnival-goers could enjoy the festivities in safety.<\/p>\n

In O’Neill Square, a range of entertainers from Matt Phillips and the KSHS brass ensemble to Jeff Hancox kept the audience entertained.<\/p>\n

And all along Kingaroy Street, local service clubs ran hamburger and chip stands or sold tickets for the ever-popular ham wheels.<\/p>\n

The SES ran a raffle to win a wheelbarrow holding $800 worth of goodies, and other stallholders offered everything from mini Dutch pancakes to spiral potatoes, gourmet doughnuts and exotic ice-creams.<\/p>\n

An animal nursery proved popular with patrons of all ages, and amusement rides ranging from climbing walls to merry-go-rounds were well patronised all night, too.<\/p>\n

CROW-FM’s team kept the music and announcements pumping over the loudspeakers, and some patrons who dressed up as Christmas elves or wore festive hats added extra gaiety to the night.<\/p>\n

In the ticket booths, local pollies took their turns selling ride tickets.<\/p>\n

And while local police were out and about in force, they had very little to do aside from accepting “Happy Christmas” wishes from passers-by.<\/p>\n

Crowd numbers at the Carnival also seemed to be up again this year and many stores stayed open to add extra colour to the streetscape, with some cafes offering specials to tempt hungry patrons.<\/p>\n

The South Burnett’s next Christmas events will occur at Murgon and Blackbutt on Friday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Blackbutt will be holding the first day of their two-day Christmas Arts and Crafts Festival in Les Muller Park during the day; and Murgon are staging their 23rd annual Christmas Festival in Lamb Street on Friday night.<\/p>\n

They’ll be followed on Saturday by the Blackbutt Christmas Food Fair at Blackbutt Showgrounds, and Boondooma Homestead’s Community Christmas Carols service, both in the evening, and then Kumbia’s Christmas Carnival on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n

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