Norwood Christmas Pageant cancelled again

Mayor Robert Bria said the Council was bitterly disappointed that it cannot present the Norwood Pageant for the second year in a row.

“We certainly appreciate the health challenges presented by COVID-19 and have worked closely with SA Health, but the situation presents too great a risk to community safety, which is the Council’s primary concern,” he said.

“We delayed any announcement to the latest possible date to give ourselves every chance of trying to make this work, but unfortunately we couldn’t.

“After working closely with SA Health over recent months, the event has been deemed a high risk and it would not be possible to maintain a “controlled” environment.

“There has been a lot of communication between the Council, SA Health and SAPOL and while we are disappointed with the outcome, we understand that SA Health are doing their best to keep our community safe.

“Council staff are now considering an alternative Christmas event that could incorporate some of the pageant floats. The Council is very keen to foster a strong sense of Christmas spirit within the community and is exploring a number of exciting options for children and families,” he said.

In a cruel blow, the three large (6-metre) Christmas trees outside the Norwood Town Hall – which form part of the City’s Christmas decorations - will not be on display as the median strip has been removed - which is strongly opposed by the Council.

“The unnecessary works by two private developers at The Parade and George Street intersection will also mean the Council can no longer install the Christmas trees in this location. For many years, the trees have been a beautiful feature in our City during the festive period.

“It’s bad enough that COVID has impacted on festivities, but now our much-loved Christmas decorations– which provide joy to countless members of the community – have gone too.”

Media enquiries: Mayor Robert Bria on 0431 754 077