More baubles
It seems Palmerston North may be getting into the festive spirit this year, but some residents still think the town, and city centre especially, looks a bit ‘‘sad’’.
It seems Palmerston North may be getting into the festive spirit this year, but some residents still think the town looks a bit ‘‘sad’’.
In 2016, a Neighbourly poll suggested a majority of Palmerston North people didn’t think the city was festive enough at Christmas time.
Only 12 per cent of those who took part thought Palmerston North was festive enough, leaving 88 per cent agreeing the city needed a Christmas makeover.
As well as a lack of street decorations, many shops hadn’t bothered to ‘‘seasonally adjust’’ their interior or window displays.
Thinking that the Grinch had swiped the city’s Christmas spirit, Shaun Kay and Carol Leckie from Square Edge Community Arts, put together a retail Christmas decorating competition.
It attracted 21 entries. This year there are 30 entries so far.
With $500 worth of print advertising in the Manawatu Standard going to the best decked-out shop, Kay said things were looking quite a bit brighter this time.
City councillor Gabrielle Bundy-cooke, at a glammed up Spectra Hair on George St, thought the lack of festive decoration in the city centre was still ‘‘terrible’’.
‘‘I’m all about celebrating. There should be lights across the street. If Shannon can do it, why can’t we?
‘‘We had the best Christmas parade in a long time, the weather is great, and people are wanting to come out and spend, but you have to make the effort to make it happen,’’ she said.
George St retailer Belinda Blair at Lost Love Found agreed. ‘‘We need more lights and tinsel and stuff... some actual street decorations.’’
Both businesses had decorated one each of 45 artificial ‘‘Pops of Christmas’’ trees provided by Palmy Unleashed, a council project tasked with increasing vibrancy on city streets.
Retailers in George St, Cuba St and Coleman Place who took the trees had decorated them to reflect their businesses, and ‘‘popped’’ them out on the street during the day. Kay will be putting the case for city Christmas decorations to the council’s economic development committee when it meets in January, and intends to make sure the i-site is decorated.
He would also like to find out what happened to the Christmas street decorations that used to be strung across Broadway. Convinced they had been stored somewhere, Kay would like to hear from anyone who knows anything about their fate.
Entries in the shop decorating competition will be judged between December 12 and 14, with the results announced on Saturday the 16th.