Santa, stilt walkers and stunts at family-friendly Christmas Eve carnival

SANTA is set to take a break from delivering presents to pop into Bangalow Showground for the town’s annual Christmas Eve Carnival on Tuesday afternoon.

Bangalow Lions Club president Greg Nash said Santa will arrive in a fire engine around 5pm and give away free ice-blocks and lollies to children.

“It’s a very family-focused event,” he said. “We are inviting people to bring a picnic blanket and set up on the village green between the Lions Club Kiosk and Moller Pavilion and have a lovely afternoon.”

There will also be face painting, tie-dye making, stilt walkers and a breakdancing performance at the event.

Christmas Belles Choir, Shorty Brown the Clown and multidisciplinary artist The Space Cowboy, who is known for his daring sideshow stunts, will also entertain the crowd.

“This guy is absolutely crackers,” Mr Nash said. “He gets up on a unicycle and swallows swords and juggles operating chainsaws. He’s born and bred in Byron Bay and has performed in circuses all around the world.”

The event will culminate with a fireworks show at 7.45pm.

Bangalow’s Christmas Eve celebration has been running in various forms since the 1950s.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the town’s main street was shut down for the event.

Bangalow Lions Club took it on after the Chamber of Commerce disbanded and it was moved to the Showground for several reasons, including parking, permits and insurance.

But Mr Nash said the Showground was the ideal place for the celebration, with Santa circling the ring in the fire truck.

“I have travelled to all the showgrounds around with the pony club and I think Bangalow is the most picturesque in the Northern Rivers,” he said. “It’s a really safe, spacious, beautiful place to spend a few hours with your family and friends.”

The Bangalow Christmas Eve Carnival will be held at Bangalow Showground on Tuesday December 24 from 4pm to 8pm.