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The Spirit of Christmas

christmas in devonport tasmania
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The Spirit of Christmas

The Spirit of Christmas kicks off on Tuesday 1st December for a full month of celebrating Christmas in Devonport.

“This December, Council will provide an array of fun activities to get people into the Christmas spirit following what has been a challenging year for many,” Devonport Mayor Councillor Annette Rockliff said.

To officially kick off the festivities, the traditional Christmas tree in the Rooke Street Mall will be lit from December 1st.

This year, a new tree and decorations have been funded by the Australian Government’s Infrastructure Investment Program Stimulus: Supporting our Community. 11 panels decorating the base of the tree have been painted by local children.

Council is sponsoring a home decorating competition – prizes will be awarded to the best night time display and to the best day time display. A sight-seeing map containing all the entered houses will be available from 1st December.

One of the highlights of the month will be a Santa tour of the suburbs, with assistance from the Devonport Motor Show, Rotary Club of Devonport North and Christmas in the East. Dates for the tour are:
• 5 December – East Devonport and Ambleside
15 December – Devonport West
16 December – Miandetta and Valley Road
17 December – Spreyton, Quoiba, Stony Rise and Tugrah

Mayor Rockliff said, “We would love to see kids in their driveways and front yards, making some noise for Santa as he goes past – play music, sing carols, ring some bells, blow a whistle or bang some pots and pans – Santa loves joyful noise!”

The Spirit of Christmas Scavenger Hunt is another family friendly activity designed to get families reconnecting and out and about and exploring Devonport. Take a deep dive into the Devonport community and surrounds by solving the clues, unravelling the riddles and finding what may be hidden in plain sight. You could play in a day or spread the fun out over a week – more information will be released about this next month.

Free family movies will be hosted at the paranaple convention centre, Elf on 4th December and The Polar Express on 11th December. Bookings for this activity can be made through Eventbrite.

Providore Place will be hosting Twilight Markets on 4th and 18th December from 4:00pm – 8:00pm, with plenty of stallholders, entertainment and food vendors, and a “secret santa” will be visiting the CBD, Fourways and East Devonport between 8-10 December with gift vouchers from various local traders to hand out to unsuspecting shoppers.

In addition, there will be number of online competitions and activities, including:
• Kids’ Christmas Dress Up Competition
• Pet Parade Competition
• Alternate Christmas Tree Competition
• Ghosts of Christmases Past – share old photos and traditions of Christmases past
• Ghosts of Christmases Present – How will Christmas be changed for you this year? What are you doing to make it special? Share your ideas and help others to make their Christmas special too
• Ghosts of Christmases Future – What new tradition have you started this year that could possibly turn into something you carry into future years?

As always, there are a number of community groups and organisations who are also planning festive activities. For example, the City of Devonport Brass Band will be playing carols on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings, a Twilight Market will be held at the Don Holl, The Greatest Christmas Show and Santa Train will be held at the Don River Railway and a Christmas Garage Sale will be hosted by the Mersey Lions Club at the Devonport Show Grounds.

Culminating on Christmas Eve, ‘Christmas Jingle’ is a world-wide event where everyone is invited to go out on their doorsteps and ring a bell for two minutes to spread the Christmas spirit and to help Santa fly his sleigh.

All these activities and many more are included in the calendar of events at http://bit.do/SpiritofChristmasCalendar.

ENDS
 
Media Contact:
Jacqui Surtees |Executive Coordinator |Devonport City Council
03 6424 0560 | 0427 132 972 |[email protected]