On Friday night Gundagai celebrated Christmas on Sheridan, the town’s annual Christmas street festival with market stalls, kids rides and activities, performances and food and drinks.
The entertainment throughout the evening included a performance from Christine Wishart’s Dance Studio, followed by Gundagai High School’s music group, a visit from Santa, cultural performances from a Pacific Islander performance group and the night ended with headlining band Second Verse.
The Gundagai Youth Council provided free Christmas craft for children, and the North Gundagai RFS provided Santa with their truck for his arrival. Cirque Um Navigate provided roving entertainment and circus performances for the evening, including a stilt walker, roving magic tricks, circus acts and giant bubbles.
Casey Polsen from the Gundagai Visitor Information Centre said the event was a huge success albeit extremely hot.
“It was a good event and we really loved it, despite being very hot. I think our crowds were bigger than last year too. Everyone said there was a bigger crowd which was nice,” said Casey.
“Across the board it was really great, it was nice to see people out and about, and everyone loves it because it is a bit of a tradition now, it is an annual thing which the community expects. The kids love it and have fun. Our Christmas craft section was flat out, and it is nice to have the community together and a nice way to end the year,” said Casey.
“Our Pacific Islander performances were the highlight of the night, and everybody loved it. They were amazing and I am so glad we got them on board.”
“The Pacific Islanders had been rehearsing for weeks prior, and they were so proud they were able to showcase their culture at this event. A lot of people in town had heard them rehearsing up on the balcony, so they knew it was coming and everyone was buzzing over it, it was really great.”
The Pacific Islands represented in the performances were Fiji, Tonga and the Solomon Islands.
“We also had Santa and everyone goes crazy for Santa. It was just a really great night except it was really hot,” said Casey.
Steph Cooke was also in attendance and said it is great to see the NSW Government recognising the importance of this event.
“It was fantastic to spend the evening in Gundagai for this year’s Christmas on Sheridan, which has grown into such a vibrant, whole-of-community celebration.”
“There was a wonderful selection of market stalls and food to try, along with some fantastic live entertainment to kick off the holiday season. It’s great to see the NSW Government is recognising the importance of this event with $350,000 via the Open Streets Program 2025-2028,” said Steph.
“Supporting local events helps keep them thriving year after year and adds to the energy and spirit that makes our towns such special places to live.”
– Emily Flint
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