Carols bright despite rain

ORGANISERS have described last Saturday’s inaugural Casey Central Community Carols as a tremendous success, despite the rain.
The event was to be held at Casey Central but was moved to the Narre Warren South P-12 gym to allow the hundreds of families to stay dry.
The evening included carols from a range of performers, a visit from Santa who arrived on a Harley, an extensive fireworks display, the lighting of a community Christmas tree, clowns, face-painting, carnival attractions, the Vibe Bus, and displays from a range of community groups.
Carol organisers Steve McCracken, Julie Kelly, Rob Nyhuis and Ben Clissold said they were delighted with the tremendous success and quality of the event.
“Almost every community group in Narre Warren South assisted in the biggest community event the young suburb has seen. It created a great community atmosphere.
“We were a bit worried that moving the event because of the rain would decimate the attendance, and while it did reduce the crowd, the hall was still filled to capacity. It didn’t damage the atmosphere,” they said.
During the night, former Casey councillor Ben Clissold presented a Norfolk Island pine to the community.
The tree was decorated by children from Littlecroft Preschool in Narre Warren South, and then the lights were switched on.
The tree will be planted in the Casey Central Town Park, the likely future home of the event, so it can grow with the community. Each year there will be an official lighting of the tree, so the whole community gets the message to put on their Christmas lights at home.