Shannon’s country Christmas carnival goes off
‘‘What are we? We are a little country town.’’ Nina Pilkington, Christmas parade and carnival chairwoman
One of Horowhenua’s smallest towns hosted a country Christmas celebration.
The Shannon Christmas Parade and Carnival took over the town’s domain on Sunday and while there were no reindeer, there were plenty of other animals.
Shannon Christmas Carnival chairwoman Nina Pilkington said organisers wanted to have a country theme to this year’s event.
‘‘We want to be different to other towns. What are we? We are a little country town.’’
Among the staples of facepainting and bouncy castles, were a petting zoo, country dancers, horse rides, a shearing demonstration, a guess the number of spuds competition and a children’s talent quest.
‘‘We want to make ourselves different from Levin. We want to make something unique,’’ Pilkington said.
As well as having 70 stalls, Santa also stopped by, giving out 600 presents to the good boys and girls of the town.
Pilkington said it was the third year they held the carnival at the domain, but the first time they had so many stalls.
The parade has run for more than 20 years and attracted people from all over the district, she said.
This year, the parade featured a pipe band assembled from across Manawatu, stock cars, the Tararua Rodders club and a mixture of community groups.
The crowds were pleased with the outing too.
Nic and Steve Chalmers, of Shannon, brought Lucas, 2, and Alex, 6 weeks, along to check out the carnival.
It was their first time at the carnival and they were not disappointed.
‘‘Having all the stuff for the kids is pretty cool.
‘‘I think we will come back [next year].’’
While Alex slept, Lucas had a ball on the inflatable train.
Ilze Bekker, also of Shannon, brought her daughter Edrei, 3,
‘‘It is really great for a small town.’’
The pipe band was the highlight for Edrei, Bekker said.