Christmas pageant Sat 14 Nov

For those who've not been here in Adelaide this time of year before you may or may not have heard about the Christmas Pageant. Its kind of a big deal here :cute:

Anyways, the big one, the Credit Union Christmas Pageant is this Saturday November 14th in the CBD :xmas10: :xmas3:

http://www.cupageant.com.au/en

At 9.30am on Saturday 14 November, the whistle will blow to signal the beginning of the 2015 Credit Union Christmas Pageant!

There will be over 172 bright and colourful sets, including floats, bands, dancers and clowns, entertaining thousands of people, culminating in the arrival in Adelaide of Father Christmas himself.

You can find the route map here - http://www.cupageant.com.au/en/information/route-map There is a link there to a PDF also

Father Christmas then takes up residence in David Jones http://www.davidjones.com.au/Campaigns/Christmas2015/Meet-Santa

http://www.cupageant.com.au/en/information/visit-the-magic-cave

A few things (other people, feel free to add your own tips/pointers etc. Would be appreciated.

* People get there *really really * early. Obscenely so. As in camping out overnight :err: or hauling their backsides in for 5, 6am to get a good spot.

* Take cushions, camping chairs or something else to sit on. Kids don't mind the ground on a blanket but us oldies might not appreciate that for hours on end.

* If going in early, take a sweater. It can be nippy in the morning especially if you pick a spot that is in the shade till later or the entire time. Even if you sit in the sun, a sweater at 6am might be handy. If picking a sunny spot ensure you've sun cream, hats etc. My preference is to be the side of the street with the shade till later on and then the sun behind you if possible.

* We prefer to be as near to the start as possible. So we can then head home sooner. We usually take the tram in and they do lay on extra public transport to get people out of the city once the parade has ended. Being nearer the start means closer to the tram line (they don't run into the CBD on pageant morning but stop at West Tce. Also two kids under 15 travel free (assume this is on bus, train and tram but double check) if with an adult travelling on a Daytrip ticket. http://www.cupageant.com.au/en/information/public-transport

* There are portaloos but they are often on side streets or have a line of people. If you have kids, try to pick a spot not too far from a loo or at least find out where they are located so you don't spend ages running up and down trying to find one :unsure:

* Take plenty of drinks and scoff. Buying there is fine but again can mean a bit of a trek with kids in tow through a big crowd.

* If you have kids, take big chalks to use as they are allowed to draw all over the roads while waiting for the pageant to start.

* There is a blue line running along the route. Once the pageant is going, people are meant to stay behind it to watch.

* Prepare yourselves! If you have kids who don't like clowns, it could get interesting. There are lots of them scattered throughout the parade, often walking, on bikes and so on and who stop or get right up alongside the kids. Click the pics link and view the 2013 clown pics to see what I am getting at http://www.cupageant.com.au/en/gallery/photos/2013-photos

* The floats, IMHO have a style all of their own I personally found some of them rather creepy or unsettling in a weird fairytale kind of way. They seem to wheel out many of the same floats year after year. There is of course no flashing lights shows or what we might expect of a carnival parade as its mid morning.

* Other pageants, on a smaller scale take place all over Adelaide once this one has kicked things off. You can read the full list here if you are interested to go along to a smaller one more local to you. They mean not having to get up so early to get a good post, are shorter, less big floats and often a lot of dance troupes, marching bands and local schools taking part. Least from what I can see of the ones I've attended.

http://playandgo.com.au/index.php/christmas-pageants-guide-south-australia-2015/

I bet my son will have been there today. I went to it a few times when I was there and it is a lovely event.