Parade photo brings back memories
Porirua had a Christmas parade until about 2003 and it was always popular. Looking through our archives, we found this photo of the Sunshine Generation children’s float from Deborah Hale Musical Theatre, now Dance Plus Performance Studio & Talent Management.
To celebrate the festive season, we thought we’d put it on our Facebook page to see if we could find out who the children were.
Sure enough, through the magic of Facebook, all names were supplied.
The Titahi Bay pair of Karina and Makere Bradnam were just youngsters when this photo was taken, but went on to do justice to their family’s high reputation in tennis.
Makere played junior pro tennis and tussled several times with leading New Zealand player Marina Erakovic. She reached the top five juniors in New Zealand in her teens. She has become an experienced tennis coach.
Makere reports for and cohosts The Crowd Goes Wild opposite Mark Richardson and Andrew Mulligan.
Karina spent several years playing tennis and continues to be involved in the sport through coaching.
She is also an actress, best known for her role in The Devil Dared Me To, which was released in 2007.
Many communities around New Zealand have a Christmas parade, but not Porirua, even though it is the country’s 10th largest city.
FLASHBACK
Porirua’s Christmas at the Park and festival in Cobham Court do a fine job of bringing the spirit of Christmas to the city.
However, the clear response from our Facebook readers was that they would be keen on a Christmas parade returning in 2016.
Talia Smith said it would be awesome if Porirua had a Christmas parade and pointed out it would be fitting for its status as a city.
‘‘I remember attending them as I was growing up. It was awesome being put on a relative’s shoulders to see the whole world,’’ Smith
‘‘Such fun and entertainment for the kids as well as for the adults.’’ Sharmaine Muncey
said.
Sharmaine Muncey said she grew up with Christmas parades and Christmas carols.
‘‘Such fun and entertainment for the kids as well as for the adults. Now everything is so glum so yes, bring it all back and let the children enjoy,’’ Muncey said.
Margaret Smith said she too missed having a parade.
Donald Wright took a different view, suggesting the Christmas festival and Christmas at the Park were better use of resources. What do you think? Email news@kmananews.co.nz.