More than 300 Santas invaded The Square last week to raise awareness of the "devastating" poverty facing New Zealand children.
The Kidscan Great Santa run involved walking or running up to 3km dressed in all your favourite Christmas gear. The event was staged in 16 locations across the country with each entrant receiving a free Santa suit and goodie bag when they reached the finish line.
MASH Trust IT manager and event organiser Grant Mantle said the event had exceeded all expectations. "It was a total success and beyond anything we'd anticipated. The support from both the public and the Santa's was amazing."
This is the first time Palmerston North has hosted this annual event which has raised more than $30,000 nationwide for KidsCan. "It came to us just as an idea that Palmerston North could do it too. We wanted to help promote a non-profit organisation that's bigger than ourselves," said Mr Mantle.
Destination Manawatu approached MASH to hold the event in conjunction with the Christmas Tree lighting and said it was one of their biggest turnouts "ever".