Published on Tuesday, 24 December 2024 at 3:06:56 PM
The Shire’s Community Development team flew over the finish line of another marathon effort with their end of year events! We have them to thank for the Edge of the Bay Festival, featuring the skate, scoot and bike Battle of the Bay Competition, the Seniors Christmas Dinner, and the Community Christmas Pageant.
All of these events were well attended by the demographics they are designed for – Edge of the Bay is very youth oriented, the Seniors Christmas Dinner speaks for itself, and the Community Christmas Pageant is for the entire community. Preparation for these events is a year-long process, and the Community Development team are already busy laying the groundwork for next year.
Did you know Esperance has this nationally recognised skateboard competition, with many competitors travelling here to participate? The Battle of the Bay Skate Competition, which the Edge of the Bay Festival is based around, is a significant event for the skating community around WA and Australia. Competing skaters accrue points towards qualification for the national skating championships. The next Battle of the Bay will be at the 2025 Edge of the Bay Festival - it will be the Festival’s 10th anniversary and we’ve been told there will be a special celebration.
The Seniors Christmas Dinner was sold out as usual, with attendees greeted by the Esperance Brass Band at the front doors of the Esperance Civic Centre. Entertainment inside ranged from the EACS School Band, to dancing, a piano performance, and singing. Shire Councillors and Directors were kept busy making sure patrons were fed, watered and happy - and they did the washing up afterwards!
The Community Christmas Pageant, held along The Esplanade for minimal business disruption, had 33 registrations for participating floats, clubs and organisations. Shire Depot staff were on site from 6am.With traffic management regulations tightening, the team were putting up event signage and blocking off parking bays. As the day progressed they monitored safe vehicle movements, shut road access down, and then packed everything up at the end – it was a long day! Our volunteer Santa Claus whipped up his sleigh (this year it was the SES vehicle, as endorsed by our Student Council) to get from the Pageant to the Museum Village, where he took a load off his feet – but didn’t stop making people happy! Families lined up for their children’s (and in one case dog’s) annual photos with Santa, set against the Shire’s special scenic Christmas backdrop. Many thanks to Depot staff, the Community Development team and all the volunteers for the work they put into making this event another wonderful memory for our children and community. And our final thanks - with so many children and pedestrians so close to vehicles of all sizes, safety is very important – thank you everyone for keeping back off the road during the Pageant.
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