CAROLS LIGHT UP
GREEN elves, Santas in Hawaiian shirts and sequins aplenty – all par for the course at Carols by Candlelight in the Far North.
Camping chairs, eskies and picnic blankets dotted Fogarty Park long before nightfall on Sunday as locals and interstate visitors parked themselves on a sun-drenched afternoon.
This year marked a departure from tradition as in a nod to water restrictions and fire bans, fireworks were forgone in favour of lasers.
“It’s a good thing, it would be good for the environment,” Shannon Baso of Manunda said.
Just to enforce the point, a wandering candle merchant sold battery operated units instead of the traditional and far more fire prone wicked variety.
For the nostalgic among the crowd, the globes at least were flame shaped.
The Basos were typical of a crowd keen to indulge in some Chrissy cheer about as far away from a white Christmas as you can get.
“We just like Christmas,” Ms Baso said. “There are not many Christmas things on in Cairns, not like down south.”
That said, more than one group was keen to shoehorn in some serious Christmas spirit.
Despite the steamy temperatures that made most carolgoers grope for sunnies, kick off their shoes and turn into the breeze, the Filipino Catholic community did not shirk when it came dressing up for the occasion.
Members donned bright blue Christmas outfits and wrapped up their three wise men in garb that would be considered Bethlehem Pret a Porter, circa 1AD.
The evening was also the major fundraiser for the Mayor’s Christmas Cheer Appeal, proceeds from which went to the distribution of food hampers to about 700 Cairns families.