Christmas in the Park on Rarotonga

It’s the festive season again and here on Rarotonga, as with the rest of the western world, it’s time for Christmas carols, parties, presents, decorations, entertainment, and eating and drinking too much.
Rotaract, the junior branch of Rotary, organises ‘Christmas in the Park’ each December. It’s a giant party aimed at the kids but with the emphasis on family fun.
For the past few years it has been held in the national auditorium; plenty of space outside for food and toy stalls with the rain-proof auditorium for kids, Santa and local entertainers to do their thing.
Well, this year the auditorium is being repaired and/or refurbished so Christmas in the Park moved back to its roots at the stadium.
Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate – it was cold and miserable with intermittent showers on the planned day so the event had to be postponed from Monday to Wednesday which was awkward for some of the food vendors. However on Wednesday the weather was great and people turned up in huge numbers.
Food sellers did a roaring trade; the most popular toys were flying saucers and kites; soccer goal kicking, golfing for cash and the ever-popular face painting kept kids busy until Santa arrived and the concert began with a cast including Raro Idol contestants, dancers and community groups.
To cap it all there were fireworks to end the show and send everyone home happy.
It was a huge amount of fun and Rotaract must be congratulated for a great start to the holidays.
Best wishes to everyone for a happy and safe Christmas and New Year.