SOUTHERN Grampians Shire Council (SGSC) has released their calendar of celebrations for the lead-up to Christmas, with Hamilton hosting a significant number of events and looking festive for this most wonderful time of the year.

Decorations will start popping up across the Shire from Friday, November 15.

The newly decorated Hamilton Christmas tree will commence the much-loved sound and light show from Friday, November 22 in front of the Hamilton Library, signalling the unofficial start to the season.

Businesses across the Shire are also encouraged to deck out storefronts for the annual Christmas Window Competition (see article below) with fantastic prizes up for grabs.

Shoppers may also cast votes – every vote enters the voter into a draw for a chance to win.

Voting will open Monday, November 18.

Another season classic will be back this year with the return of the popular Hamilton CBD Busking Competition.

This competition will spotlight some of the extremely talented musicians and entertainers from around the Southern Grampians as they bring festive tunes to life across Hamilton.

Applications are open now so go online to bit.ly/3YYuaZi for entry details and voting information.

The St Marys Christmas Parade will be back, bigger and better than ever, on Friday, December 6 starting at 6pm on Gray Street.

The parade finishes in front of the Hamilton Performing Arts Centre on Brown Street.

Streets will be closed to traffic until 9pm, so pedestrians can wander freely to enjoy the festive displays, live music performances, and late-night shopping with local businesses.

Participating stores will have the opportunity to bring stalls onto the street, with permit fees waived by Council for the evening.

The massively popular Santa’s Wonderland is also returning, with Santa Claus setting up his grotto in the Hub in Hamilton.

Santa’s workshop will be open from Wednesday, December 4 where the man in red will delight children and the young at heart alike.

If anyone would like to deliver their Christmas list directly to the source, keep an eye out for announcements closer to the day.

SGSC chief executive, Tony Doyle was looking forward to local festive cheer these holidays.

“This year, we’re really encouraging people to look locally before shopping outside of the Southern Grampians,” he said.

“We are really spoilt for choice in terms of shopping opportunities as well as experiences within our region so I would encourage you all to look and love your local wherever you can this holiday season.

“By shopping locally, we put food on local tables, put kids in local schools and keep a wide variety of jobs in the region.

“Shopping local is the best way to spread Christmas cheer far and wide this year.

“We have brought back the busking competition to hear from some fantastic musicians, we will have the window display competition back for businesses to spread the holiday cheer, Santa will be back this year at a newly located Wonderland in the Hub, and we are also supporting the St Mary’s Christmas parade to encourage late night shopping with Hamilton traders.

“This is a very special time of year where friends, family and neighbours can get together.

“Make the most of the Southern Grampians this Christmas and support local.”