Officer South’s Kaduna Park estate was transformed into a Christmas wonderland as part of a festive movie night hosted by developer Parklea on Sunday 10 December.
More than 400 residents gathered on the grass with picnics, nibbles and drinks to watch the 2003 film Elf.
Pakenham Rotary volunteers manned the barbecue and staff from finance company My Expert served free popcorn.
Parklea general corporate manager Jarod Mills said the movie night was the first community gathering at Kaduna Park post Covid.
“It was wonderful to see the community come together and enjoy this special event,” he said.
“At Parklea we pride ourselves on creating a sense of community by offering opportunities for neighbours to get together, have fun and build friendships.
“The community has missed out on a lot of events over the past few years because of lockdowns and even last year it took some time to get back to normal.”
Mr Mills said residents from the Lifestyle Communities retirement village also attended the event.
“We had fantastic feedback after the movie night,” he said.
“It was enjoyed by everyone from toddlers to retirees.”
New Kaduna Park residents Sean and Kelly Palmer moved to Kaduna Park a month ago with their family.
Mr Palmer said they were amazed Parklea had gone to the trouble of organising the movie night.
“It was really good to see the community come together,” he said.
“I had never seen anything like that before.”
Mr Palmer was their daughter loved the event.
“The toilet facilities were amazing for a large crowd, and we felt very safe and welcome,” he said.
“Everyone was super friendly.”
The next community event will be the Kaduna Park Spring Festival, which had to be cancelled in October due to unfavourable weather.
The festival, which will feature food trucks, a petting zoo and a face painter, has been rescheduled for Sunday 4 February.
