Festive feast

SANTA and his elves made a special visit to Hampton Park on the weekend, much to the joy of the ecstatic local children.
More than 2000 people turned out at the Hampton Park Carols last Friday night to celebrate Christmas and sing to their hearts’ content.
Organiser of the event Pastor Graham Shand from Casey Life Assembly of God, said the event, held at the carpark at the Hampton Park Shopping Centre, was a great success.
“It was absolutely fantastic,” Pastor Shand said. “It was quite amazing to see everyone come together.”
Councillor Janet Halsall said the audience was entertained for the whole evening by local singers, dancers and entertainers, and everybody got into the spirit of Christmas.
Pastor Shand said this year they trialed a synthetic turf, which was laid across the carpark to give it a real garden feel.
The carols came after the recent success of the Hampton Park Festival, the Hampton Park Networking Group’s first free community event, at the shopping centre, which also saw more than 2000 people attend.
The day included market stalls, a live band, jumping castle, face painting and community stalls.
Hampton Park networking Group coordinator Vanessa Gerdes said it was a great day and there had been some fantastic feedback from the community.
“There will be many more free events next year for the community and the kids,” Ms Gerdes said. “This was just the start.”