Mayor's message
Christmas is almost here and Council is supporting our community with the 2024 Christmas program!
The very popular Pageant of Lights is again returning to Bourbong Street with our famous parade, stalls, Christmas decorations and Christmas tree lighting in Buss Park on Thursday 5 December. We also have a raffle in full swing for a brand new $69,990 caravan. Tickets are limited to just 1,000 and are $100 each, which will be drawn at Easter. Not only will you be in with a shot to win an incredible prize, but all the money raised goes to the Mayor’s Christmas Appeal which directly funds local charities to provide Christmas hampers, food vouchers and gifts to local families in need at Christmas. It’s the best way to make a difference in the lives of locals during the season of giving. Tickets are only available for purchase in person from the Bundaberg Services Club on Quay Street.
This year, we also want to support local businesses and do what we can to promote them. We’ll be running a Christmas shop decoration competition to throw the challenge out there – which CBD business in either Bundaberg, Bargara, Childers or Gin Gin gets the most into the Christmas spirit. I’ll be celebrating with and promoting the winner, and they can put me to work behind the counter to help out during their Christmas rush!
I’m also excited to announce the New Year's Eve Fireworks in Bundy are back, which I know will be a welcome return to many local families as we celebrate 2025.
I hope you enjoy what we’ve got planned this year – I’m looking forward to seeing you out and about as we celebrate the festive season.
So many wonderful businesses and community organisations are helping to make this all possible for all to enjoy this year, I would like to particularly thank Auswide Bank, Takalvans, Ergon Energy, and Ingenia for their incredible support.
Merry Christmas!
Mayor Helen Blackburn
Bundaberg Regional Council
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TUESDAY 31 DECEMBER
Time: 6.30 pm - midnight
Location: Lions Park, North Bundaberg
Join us for Bundaberg Regional Council's New Year's Eve Fireworks!
Enjoy a festive evening filled with live entertainment by local acts The Spargo Brothers, Marah Leigh and The Go To's, delicious food stalls and two spectacular fireworks shows at 8 pm and midnight.
Celebrate the New Year with family and friends while treated a dazzling display to welcome 2025!
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FREE ENTRY
Thank you to our New Year’s Eve Fireworks sponsors.
Gold sponsor
Silver sponsors
Bronze sponsors
In-kind sponsors
Drive-in movies
Get ready to cosy up with your friends and family under the starry night sky at the drive-in theatre!
Experience the excitement of the drive-ins as you get into the festive spirit and enjoy a Christmas movie from the comfort of your car.
Gates open from 5.30 pm with movies to begin at 7 pm. BYO food and drinks.
Bundaberg
Elf
FRIDAY 13 DECEMBER
Cost: $25 per car
Time: 7 - 9.30 pm
Location: Bundaberg Recreational Precinct
7 Kendalls Road, Bundaberg
Movie information: Rated G
Buddy (Will Ferrell) was accidentally transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised to adulthood among Santa's elves.
Unable to shake the feeling that he doesn't fit in, the adult Buddy travels to New York, in full elf uniform, in search of his real father.
Woodgate
The Grinch
SATURDAY 14 DECEMBER
Cost: $25 per car
Time: 7 - 9.30 pm
Location: Woodgate Beach Sports Oval
1 Kangaroo Court, Woodgate
Movie information: Rated PG, 2018 animation
When the Whos decide to make Christmas bigger and brighter, the disgruntled Grinch realises there is one way to gain peace and quiet.
With help from Max, the green grump hatches a scheme to pose as Santa Claus, steal Christmas and silence the Whos' holiday cheer once and for all.
Childers
The Santa Clause
SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER
Cost: $25 per car
Time: 7 - 9.30 pm
Location: Childers Showgrounds
5 Ridgway Street, Childers
Movie information: Rated G
Divorced dad Scott (Tim Allen) has custody of his son (Eric Lloyd) on Christmas Eve.
After he accidentally kills a man in a Santa suit, they are magically transported to the North Pole, where an elf explains that Scott must take Santa's place before the next Christmas arrives.
Moncrieff events
André Rieu's 2024 Christmas Concert | Gold and Silver
Cinema
SUNDAY 8 DECEMBER
Celebrate the holiday season with André Rieu's dazzling Christmas Concert, 'Gold and Silver', exclusively in cinemas! This magical event embodies the festive spirit of Christmas, bringing joy, warmth, and sparkle to the big screen.
Get ready to be transported to the wondrous world of enchanting glamour that is André's winter wonderland! Under the sparkle of 150 chandeliers and 50 Venetian candelabras, feel your heart warm with the magical melody of all your favourite Christmas classics.
André Rieu will be joined on stage by his beloved Johann Strauss Orchestra, along with special guest artists and the young and talented Emma Kok.
Don't miss this chance to celebrate music, love and Christmas sparkle, with André Rieu's new Christmas Concert in cinemas – 'Gold and Silver'.
Tickets: $40
Time: 1 pm
Event information: 180 minutes with interval
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The Kransky Sisters | A Cracker Kransky Christmas
Live event, season
SATURDAY 14 DECEMBER
A Crock Pot of Cracker Hits! Pack your mince pies and Christmas spirits – The Kransky Sisters are bringing the party back to Bundaberg!
Travelling in the trusty Morris from their hometown of Esk, the sisters are eager to share their unravelling stories along with home spun renditions of popular songs, deftly banged out on their wondrously odd-ball menagerie of instruments.
From Britney Spears to The Spice Girls, M to AC/DC, and carols like you’ve never heard them before, a night with this delightfully twisted trio will more than fill your Christmas stockings.
Lost love, home remedies, an old radio and scrub turkeys, the sisters share with you their adventures and misadventures alike. Complete with Tuba, toilet brush, pot, shaker and saw, reed keyboard and old guitar, this off-the-wall Christmas experience is not to be missed.
If you enjoyed them last time, you won’t want to miss them this time!
Tickets: $55
Time: 7.30 pm
Event information: 90 minutes no interval
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Harold and the Purple Crayon
Cinema
SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER
Inside of his book, adventurous Harold (Zachary Levi) can make anything come to life simply by drawing it.
After he grows up and draws himself off the book's pages and into the physical world, Harold finds he has a lot to learn about real life – and that his trusty purple crayon may set off more hilarious hijinks than he thought possible.
When the power of unlimited imagination falls into the wrong hands, it will take all of Harold and his friends' creativity to save both the real world and his own.
Harold and the Purple Crayon is the first film adaptation of the beloved children's classic that has captivated young readers for decades.
Directed by Carlos Saldanha and produced by John Davis, the live-action hybrid family adventure/comedy stars Zachary Levi, Lil Rel Howery, Benjamin Bottani, Jemaine Clement, Tanya Reynolds with Alfred Molina and Zooey Deschanel. The film's screenplay is writted by David Guion and Michael Handelman, based on the book by Crockett Johnson.
Tickets: FREE, bookings required
Time: 10.30 am - 12 noon
Event information: 92 minutes rated PG
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White Christmas
Cinema
SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER
The yuletide favourite is back!
Singers Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) join sister act Betty (Rosemary Clooney) and Judy Haynes (Vera-Ellen) to perform a Christmas show in rural Vermont. There, they run into Gen. Waverly (Dean Jagger), the boys' commander in World War II, who, they learn, is having financial difficulties; his quaint country inn is failing.
So what's the foursome to do but plan a yuletide miracle: a fun-filled musical extravaganza that's sure to put Waverly and his business in the black!
During the performance, Betty and Bob become engaged, and Judy and Phil decide to go through with their own engagement. As everyone sings White Christmas a thick snowfall blankets Vermont, at last.
Join us for the 70th anniversary screening of this Christmas classic.
Tickets: $14
Time: 2 pm
Event information: 120 minutes with interval, rated G
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Community events
There's plenty on offer around the region this festival season! Check out the list of community-run events.
Hosting an event you would like featured? List it for free on What's On Bundaberg!
Mayor's Christmas Appeal
A community project to share the joy of the festive season.
Raising funds for local charities to provide hampers, vouchers and gifts to local residents who need a helping hand to help make their Christmas special.
Let’s work together to spread the Christmas spirit to all!
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Major sponsor
Gallery events
Twilight Artisan Market
THURSDAY 5 DECEMBER
Make your festive season extra special by supporting local artisans and embracing the Christmas spirit at the Twilight Artisan Market!
As the sun sets and the stars begin to twinkle, immerse yourself in the Twilight Artisan Market, timed to coincide with the Pageant of Lights. Stroll through the market under the soft glow of fairy lights and lanterns and browse a stunning array of handcrafted gifts, one-of-a-kind artworks and exquisite goods perfect for popping under the Christmas tree.
There will also be live music to get you in the spirit of the season!
Time: 5.30 - 9 pm
Location: Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery and Gallery Park
1 Barolin Street, Bundaberg
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FREE ENTRY
No bookings required
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Papiergeschichten Marlies Oakley
Exhibition
SUNDAY 17 NOVEMBER - SUNDAY 2 FEBRUARY
This festive season step inside the wonderland that is Papiergeschichten (Paper Stories) at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery.
Created by award-winning collage artist, Marlies Oakley, out of thousands of intricately cut images from vintage books and magazines, this is an immersive art experience like no other.
With dreamlike scenes featuring forests, animals, fairy tale characters, and maybe a hidden elf or two, this is a special exhibition guaranteed to get art lovers of all ages into the Christmas spirit!
Marlies Oakley, Baubles, 2024, hand cut collage. Photo: Sabrina Lauriston.
Time: Gallery open hours: weekdays 9.30 am - 5 pm, weekends 10 am - 2 pm
Location: Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
1 Barolin Street, Bundaberg
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FREE ENTRY
No bookings required
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Creative Crowd Christmas Collage Baubles with Marlies Oakley
WEDNESDAY 4 DECEMBER
Put an artistic spin on your Christmas decorating with this Collage Bauble workshop, led by Papiergeschichten artist, Marlies Oakley.
With a glass of festive fizz in hand, Marlies will take you through the process of creating baubles inspired by the incredible installation she has created in the Gallery.
A perfect way to get together with friends and enjoy the last Creative Crowd workshop for 2024! No experience required!
Image: Marlies Oakley, Baubles, 2024, hand cut collage. Photo credit: Sabrina Lauriston.
Cost: $65 – includes tutoring, all materials and refreshments
Time: 5.30 - 7.30 pm
Location: Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery
1 Barolin Street, Bundaberg
Event information: 16+ event
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THURSDAY 5 DECEMBER
Time: 5.30 - 9 pm
Location: Bundaberg CBD
Join us as we kindle the spirit of the season at the Pageant of Lights.
Come along for an enchanting evening filled with festive entertainment, a dazzling parade of Christmas floats and the official lighting of the spectacular Christmas lights.
It's a festive celebration packed with free, family friendly fun and stalls that promise to warm the hearts of the young and old.
The event will kick off at 5.30 pm with entertainment across two stages. The official turning on of the Christmas lights will commence at 7 pm followed by the parade. Be sure to head to Gallery Park for the Twilight Artisan Market and pick yourself up some locally made Christmas goodies.
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FREE ENTRY
Pageant of Lights stage schedules
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Buss Park stage
|
5.30 pm |
Bundaberg Dance Academy |
|
5.55 pm |
Kalkie Drum Band |
|
6.25 pm |
Bundaberg Combined School Choir |
|
7 pm |
Bundaberg CBD Christmas lights switch on |
|
7 pm |
Pageant of Lights parade |
|
7.45 pm |
Drama Queens – The Studio |
|
8.30 pm |
Pageant of Lights parade - winner presentation |
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CBD pavilion stage
|
5.30 pm |
Bundaberg Municipal Band |
|
6 pm |
TNT Dance Studio |
|
6.30 pm |
Citicoast Church |
|
7 pm |
Pageant of Lights parade |
Roving entertainment
|
Bundaberg Dance Academy |
|
The Neon Loft |
Pageant of Lights stage schedules
⠀
Buss Park stage
|
5.30 pm |
Bundaberg Dance Academy |
|
5.55 pm |
Kalkie Drum Band |
|
6.25 pm |
Bundaberg Combined School Choir |
|
7 pm |
Bundaberg CBD Christmas lights switch on |
|
7 pm |
Pageant of Lights parade |
|
7.45 pm |
Drama Queens – The Studio |
|
8.30 pm |
Pageant of Lights parade - winner presentation |
⠀
CBD pavilion stage
|
5.30 pm |
Bundaberg Municipal Band |
|
6 pm |
TNT Dance Studio |
|
6.30 pm |
Citicoast Church |
|
7 pm |
Pageant of Lights parade |
⠀
Roving entertainment
|
Bundaberg Dance Academy |
|
The Neon Loft |
Santa’s CBD Showcase
Shopfront decoration competition
Roll out the lights, untangle that tinsel and dust off those elf ears – the Santa’s CBD Showcase is here!
Businesses in the Bundaberg, Childers, Gin Gin and Bargara CBDs are invited to help spread the festive cheer this Christmas by decorating their shopfronts.
Shops can nominate to take part and create their own displays with one winner in each CBD area to be announced at the popular Pageant of Lights event.
Council will share photos of the winning displays across its platforms and each winner will also be able to put Mayor Helen Blackburn to work behind the counter in the lead up to Christmas!
To take part, businesses must nominate by 29 November and have their displays in place ready for judging by 2 December.
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