Most towns in our area have a real community spirit, but I think it really shows in Belgrave. They have so many talented people who are happy to get together and organise amazing events, look after and promote their town.
Things started coming together around 4pm, a bit before it started getting dark. The alley that runs between the main street and Puffing Billy Station had 3 stages set up for local bands to play and a lot of the local food shops had a mini setup out the back of their buildings. We stopped for some delicious chili lamb kebabs and listened to a few songs from Harmony Byrne (photo below) who has an amazingly beautiful voice.
There were also some local school choirs and younger singers along the main street.
But what everyone was waiting for started just as the sun went down. The Lantern Parade.
The parade started off with drummers and fire twirlers.
This is just a small section of the parade. The main street was closed off (quite significant as this is the end of a major hwy that runs all the way to the city), and the parade marched up and down lead by the local wizard.
There were a lot of animal lanterns, this elephant, a lyrebird, kookaburra, crow, eagle, fish, the very hungry caterpillar and a dragon.
I'm not sure if I will ever see a Dalek and the Thunderbird 2 in the same spot ever again.
Judging by all the 3-5 year olds around me, this ghost was the highlight of the parade.
Wow!! That Dalek looked freaking awesome. That ghost looks pretty impressive too. I can see why it's so popular.
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