Why I get up at 1am for the Adelaide Christmas Pageant

Early starts, Grinch-like blow ups and a long wait are all worth it when it comes to the Adelaide Christmas Pageant, writes Aaron Spirdonoff.

“You must really love Christmas?”

This is one of the more common and less expletive-ridden responses I get when people find out that I get up around 1am to secure a treasured spot kerbside along the Christmas Pageant route every year.

And there are hundreds others that are there at that time alongside of me.

It’s a number that has been growing each year until the pandemic forced the much-loved event to a ticketed Adelaide Oval in 2020 and 2021.

Armed with plastic Bunnings chairs and tarpaulins and rugged up in jacket, scarf and beanie, I aim to commandeer a rough 4x2m area behind the blue line.

And then just sit and wait.

You’ve got to get up early to stake a prime pageant position in the city streets. Picture: File

Crowds flock to the Christmas Pageant, many hoping to get their kids the best view possible. Picture: File

It’s the price you have to pay to ensure your family and friends get a birds-eye view of one of South Australia’s most cherished events.

As the hours drag on, more and more people file in and space becomes a much sought-after commodity. As it gets closer to day break, parents arrive thinking they are early only to be greeted by a wall of folding camping chairs and blankets.

This is where people’s ‘Christmas Spirit’ can start to wear pretty thin and inches of pavement are literally fought over.

If you are not there to protect your turf or haven’t staked a strong enough claim to the area, don’t be surprised if your chairs and blankets end up sprawled all over the Victoria Square grass.

I see this happen every year.

The police close the roads at around 5am and this also causes a stampede as patrons clamber, scratch and fight to claim the last free patches where they can have a clear view of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest public parade.

The crowd is mostly parents, some with pre-teen children who are rugged up in sleeping bags, and grandparents. And despite the competition for spots and the occasional Grinch-like blow up, everyone is genuinely welcoming, friendly and acknowledging of the effort we are putting in for our families.

Children get their own back on a clown with a watering can to the delight of the kids at the Christmas Pageant. Picture: File

Once the sun comes up more people arrive and the excitement builds as children start to draw all over the road in chalk and the 9.30am start time draws nearer.

I may be cold and tired and a little sore after eight hours sitting on a Bunnings chair outside the Hilton Hotel but when my family arrives it’s all forgotten.

My daughters and their friends take a seat on the kerb and wait for the first float to come past. The beaming smile on their faces as they high-five Pageant clowns and performers makes it all worthwhile.

That’s why I do it and why I really love the Christmas Pageant.