ARARAT’s popular Christmas Carols in the Alexandra Gardens have been cancelled for a second year in a row.
Organisers made the heart breaking decision yesterday after weighing up whether there was enough time to put on the annual event.
Ararat’s carols are one of the most popular events on the local calendar and in a normal year would attract close to a thousand people.
Organiser Joe Perry said it was a difficult decision to cancel the event for a second year in a row.
“With COVID and everything there will be nothing happening this year,” he said.
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“We’ve had no time to get in and organise anything at all and it has been canned as of this morning,” Mr Perry said.
“As of today (Thursday) the decision was made nothing will be done this year, it’s too late to organise anything, the band hasn’t been able to practice through COVID, what we would have been able to put up wouldn’t have been credible for the occasion, its as simple as that, we wouldn’t have done it justice,” he said.
“Over the years we have set a standard with carols and we wouldn’t have been able to come anywhere near that standard,” Mr Perry said.
Ararat’s Carols by Candlelight evening is regarded as one of the best events of its type in the region.
The evening usually comprises of traditional carols, with music played by the Ararat City Band.
The evening normally culminates with a giant fireworks display funded by Ararat Rural City Council.