The Orbost Christmas Eve Festival was a little different than usual, but far more normal than it could have been given most of the state has been locked away from their loved ones for the majority of the year.
“The community responded incredibly positively to being able to gather and come together with large beaming smiles and laughter filling Nicholson Street,” festival committee member, Samantha Reynolds, said.
“The need to register for contract tracing was a major change and these regulations were accepted and the level of cooperation with the volunteers at the check points is to be commended.
“There were also no jumping castles and rides because of COVID restrictions, however there was much interest in the decoration of the gingerbread men which were purchased from the Orbost Bakery and were cleared out within an hour. Santa still arrived on time and in his own jovial way had a lovely time interacting with the children and hearing all of their wishes before handing them lollies and icy poles.”
Another new addition this year was the showbag stall which was ran by the Orbost and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry. It was a complete sell out and the profits from the stall will go back into next years children’s attractions.
The Minute To Win It competition returned with Deon Scott the winner in the senior competition followed by Paul and Kirsty Herbert. The junior winner was Beau Lawrence with Oscar Millard and James Russell second and third respectively.
The crowd enjoyed the stalls, the equipment displays by the emergency services personnel and the vintage cars.
During the evening the one-year anniversary of the bushfires were noted and emergency services personnel were acknowledged for their tireless work on behalf of the community.
Celebratory cupcakes were provided by Rosie’s Hot Bake and were made available to the community in recognition of the work of those personnel.
The Orbost and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry major Lucky Shopper competition was drawn with $500 of vouchers won by Marj Munn, $200 by Caitlin Murray and $100 by Vicki Stevens.
Winners of the best decorated shop window was Andrew’s Land & Surf with the theme of Christmas in a COVID year, while Classic Living Orbost also took out an award.
There were a number of houses around the district with decorated lights.
The Jarrahmond Road property of Tom and Sharon Jensen stood out as did the B Road property of Mark McDonald and Jaymie- Lee Ross. Others with great displays included Paulene and Brett Hambling’s property in Clarke Street, who for many years took out the win, the Davis property at the corner of Pardews Lane and Forest Road, 31 Majors Creek Road and in Marlo Jenny and Colin Smith’s property at 8 William Hunter Drive had a beautiful display.
The display of blow up characters at the corner of Salisbury and Tennyson streets were a late inclusion on Christmas Eve.
“On behalf of the community a thank you to all who decorated their properties, they give a lot of joy to families touring the streets in the lead up to Christmas and we hope to see many more next festive season,” Mrs Reynolds said.
The fireworks were the finale to the night and went off with a bang. People gathered all over Forest Park and in their cars to watch the spectacular.
Orbost locals, Laurie and Kenzie Downey, enjoyed creating their gingerbread men at the annual Christmas Eve Festival. The packs were created by the Orbost Bakery and purchased by the committee and ran as a great success, selling out in an hour. (PS)
