Haddon community to unite for free festive night

ORGANISERS of a free community Christmas party in Haddon are bringing the event back following its debut last year.

Run by the town’s fire brigade, Lions Club and general store management, the Christmas party is returning tomorrow evening at Haddon Lions Park.

Haddon General Store owner Sharon McNeight is one of the people behind the event.

She said it’ll be a fun outing for the district leading into the holidays.

“The aim is to get the community together so they can meet and have a chat, meet new neighbours,” she said.

“It’s about community involvement.

“A lot of people have moved to the area, and unless they have kids going to the school, it’s hard to meet other locals and really see the community.”

The event was established last year to fill the gap left by the absence of the local fire brigade’s community carols, which had run for years before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Running from 5.30pm to 8pm, festivities will feature a free sausage sizzle, live music, Christmas activities, and a visit from Santa.

Auctions and raffles will also be held.

Proceeds from the event will go towards Uniting’s Street 2 Home program, which supports those experiencing homelessness, often at the event’s Lions Park site.

Haddon Lions secretary Robert McCracken, who has lived in the region for nearly 20 years, said it’s important to support the work being put into the public site.

“As far as I know, the park was set up about 30 years ago by Lions, and originally it was an overgrown area of gorse,” he said.

“They built the toilets, clubrooms, and it’s quite a great area to have this where we get a lot of campers and it’s well-used.

“We do get a few people floating around at the park, and if we can raise a bit of money for Uniting to help them, all the better.”