Editorial: Parade back on track

Santa hands out high-fives as he rolls down the road. Photo / Ben Fraser

The organisers of the Rotorua Christmas parade took a punt this year by making major changes to the annual family outing.

It worked.

This year's parade was held at the later time of 4pm on Saturday, instead of the morning, and followed a shorter route. There was also more to it, with a movie screening at the Village Green at 6pm for those wanting to make the most of the family outing.

While some might wonder how the later time would go down with grizzly, hungry children desperate to see the big man in red, it seems the changes went down a treat.

In previous years, the parade has copped a lot of negative feedback on social media. Many complained about the standard of the floats, with a common criticism being too many businesses were entering as a way of promoting themselves without going to enough effort. It wasn't uncommon to see "floats" consisting of a sign-written vehicle covered in a couple of strands of tinsel or reindeer ears with someone walking alongside it handing out flyers.

While all effort should be applauded, in the eyes of adults especially, the parade had lost its way.

I'll never forget taking my then 3-year-old to the parade two years ago. Her favourite "float" was the very last one - not Santa, but the council street cleaner. Maybe her impressions were a reflection of the standard.

From what we saw on Saturday, the standard of floats was pretty impressive. A lot of time and thought had gone into the costumes, dancing and singing. We came away carrying armfuls of lollies and goodies and were pleasantly surprised at the lack of hustle and bustle with parking and finding a good spot to watch the parade.

The only criticism I would have is despite Santa being a crowd favourite with children, perhaps next year, he should rethink handing out high-fives to children. Excited children were rushing up to the float, breaking the line they were to safely stand behind, to give him a high-five.

It's lucky we weren't reporting a different story today.

But, that aside, full marks to the organisers and I look forward to next year's parade already.