Sad Christmas for some Perth kids.
Camera IconSad Christmas for some Perth kids. Credit: Supplied/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Burswood: Christmas Carols in the Park cancelled for the second year

Madeleine StephensSouthern Gazette

THE popular Carols in the Park event in at Burswood Park has been cancelled for the second straight Christmas, this year because of the timing of riverbank rehabilitation works.

Burswood Park Board general manager Linda Kut said the decision was made because the site of the carols had to be closed to improve the receding Swan River foreshore.

“The Board’s decision to cancel the 2018 event was a reluctant one and made only to facilitate critical foreshore works which are needed to arrest and stabilise the shoreline erosion, repair damaged sections, and ultimately improve the amenity, appearance and ecology of the foreshore area,” she said.

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Ms Kut said the carols event would return next year despite the two-year hiatus.

Last year’s concert did not go ahead because the event space was earmarked for a construction project, which ultimately didn’t eventuate.

Parkwood resident Gabrielle Iriks said her granddaughter looked forward every year to dancing at the event, which she described as a great family occasion.

“Many family members, parents and grandparents of the participants also go to watch their children and relatives perform and it is a treasured event for them,” she wrote in a letter of disappointment to several politicians.

“Everyone enjoys the event as it caters to many, on many different levels, including the biggest one which is community togetherness and integration.

“In this day and age of empty consumerism people are looking for real connections and experiences as well.”

Ms Kut said moving Carols in the Park to another location in the park had been considered but was ultimately not viable.

“Unfortunately, relocation is not possible due to a range of factors including lighting, safety and access to services as well as hosting of the Telethon Community Cinemas Burswood, which already occupy a significant area of the park from late November,” she said.

More than 2000 people attended the 22nd Carols in the Park in 2016 when Johnny Young Talent Team of WA, Canning City Brass Band, Take Note singers, Vinyl Revival band and Coastal Scottish Pipes and Drums performed.

Town of Victoria Park Mayor Trevor Vaughan said an alternative for locals to attend was Countdown to Christmas, which the council has partnered with Curtin University to deliver on December 2.

The South Perth Lions Club hosts an annual carols event at McDougall Park, sponsored by the City of South Perth.

Mayor Sue Doherty said the City planned to meet with the Lions Club to discuss their plans for this year, where the cancellation of Burswood Park’s event would be discussed.