Melbourne Christmas 2021: Pressure on councils to rethink carols, Ivanhoe Boulevard Lights

Carols lovers have had a win with two suburban councils announcing plans to stage their festive events, despite others going the Grinch on Christmas fun.

Chandlar Eliezer, Edna Mahina and Tanya Sutterby regularly decorate their Ivanhoe home for The Boulevard’s Christmas lights. Picture: Jason Edwards.

There will be a bit more festive cheer in the eastern suburbs come Christmas time, with two councils announcing they will forge ahead with their traditional celebrations — in a Covid-safe way.

Whitehorse and Maroondah councils, both previously uncommitted on their plans, have confirmed they will host Carols events in some form.

It comes after a handful of Melbourne councils last week refused to reboot their events despite the expected lifting of outdoor crowd caps before December, with many saying there wasn’t enough time to make things work.

Maroondah Mayor Kylie Spears said the council will host a “Covid-safe” Carols at Croydon’s Town Park in early December, but did not provide an exact date or details of crowd limits.

Cr Spears said more information would be published on the council’s website in coming weeks and it looked forward to “being able to celebrate the start of the Christmas season with our community”.

Meanwhile, a Whitehorse Council spokeswoman said it would make an announcement on its 2021 Carols in the coming weeks.

The council had previously said it would look to run “activities” for the festive season in line with Covid restrictions and event guidelines at the time.

It usually holds its Carols in its Nunawading civic centre precinct.

Victoria’s road map allows for major events to proceed for vaccinated crowds without limits on numbers or density restrictions, when 90 per cent of eligible Victorians are vaccinated.

That target is expected to be reached by November 24.

Only events with “significant numbers” of children may not be able to operate at full capacity while vaccines remain unavailable for those under 12 years of age.

However, the new rules have not convinced many councils to rethink earlier decisions to cancel carols and Christmas light displays.

The move has angered residents and prompted a call from Ratepayers Victoria for cashed-up councils to reinstate their events.

President Dean Hurlston said councils had “plenty of cash” in their budgets to stage their annual carols events.

“Now that the state is unlocking, it is totally appropriate for councils to host Covid-safe carols,” he said.

“Councils have shuttered most services throughout the pandemic, they must deliver carols as a start.”

Save Victorian Events spokesman Simon Thewlis encouraged the state government to give councils more funding to get their events across the line.

“We’d encourage them to do it (Carols) if they can, but we do understand it’s not easy,” he said.

Frustrated residents are going it alone, including some on The Boulevard in Ivanhoe, known for its famous Christmas lights display.

Lee Sutterby and his family are going “all out” with a summer beach theme despite Banyule Council standing firm on its decision to not support this year’s event.

Chandlar Eliezer, Edna Mahina and Tanya Sutterby are forging ahead with their Christmas lights display in The Boulevard in Ivanhoe. Picture: Jason Edwards

“People are sick to death of rules and regulations, and to not support the lights at 90 per cent (fully vaccinated) is madness,” Mr Sutterby said.

“If everything else is opening up, why can’t the lights go ahead? We’ll be starting to set up in December and we hope others do the same.”

The council won’t provide its usual support for the event including traffic management and infrastructure, leaving police to monitor crowds and traffic.

A Banyule spokesman said it would be unable to obtain a Covid-safe permit for the event “or pre-empt any changes to restrictions” due to its scale, complexity and risk factors.

The sound of Carols around the suburbs is also set to be missing with a string of councils not budging on their original decisions to cancel their annual outdoor events.

Knox, Monash and Bayside councils all said they would be unable to change their plans in the short time frame.

Monash mayor Brian Little saying “even a scaled-back version” of its Carols By Candlelight at Jells Park, which attracts up to 25,000 people, was not possible.

Frankston’s Festival of Lights will also stay on ice until 2022.

Mayor Kris Bolam said the street party, which attracted up to 50,000 people and is usually held late November, could not be rolled out in four weeks.

“Frankston City Council starts preparing for festivals of this scale 12 months in advance, with active planning six to eight months prior to the festival,” Cr Bolam said.

Bayside Council said the lack of clarity on restrictions and the time needed to plan a large public event made it difficult to reinstate Bayside Christmas Carols in the Park “at this late stage”

“Exactly what restrictions for public events will be like in December is still unclear,” Bayside Environment, Recreation and Infrastructure director Adam McSwain said on Tuesday.

Mr McSwain said the council was finalising a series of smaller festive events – including roving entertainers, live music and entertainment – to be held across Bayside parks and outside spaces.

Stonnington, Whittlesea and Kingston also won’t hold their usual large carols events this year, while Moonee Valley Council will host small ‘pop-up’ performances.