News
8 December, 2025
Hundreds turn out to thank ‘angels’
Hundreds of people have lined Bowral’s main street to show their gratitude for the region’s ‘angels’.
Hundreds of people have lined Bowral’s main street to show their gratitude for the region’s ‘angels’.
Saturday’s ‘Angels in our Town’ parade featured local first responders including police, RFS, SES, Fire and Rescue, NSW Ambulance paramedics and service organisations – as well as everyone’s favourite Christmas visitor, Santa.
Angels in our Town founder Antoinette Sampson said the parade was “awesome”.
Speaking to The Southern Wire in Corbett Gardens after the parade, she said crowd numbers had definitely been up on last year.
She said this year’s parade had featured more groups than ever before and had been much faster.
Hopefully, she said, the event would continue to grow bigger and bigger in years to come.
Mrs Sampson said the Angels in our Town parade was more than just an event.
She said the community needed to come together in a ‘deep’ way to acknowledge the people who look after us.
Mrs Sampson was full of gratitude for all the people who have given their time to help make the parade such a success.
She said she had an “amazing” board and working committee and thanked everyone involved for their efforts over the past 12 months.
She also thanked the event’s sponsors and everyone who had contributed financially.
She said the event’s success was not only the result of hard work but the financial support of the community.
Saturday’s parade kicked off with a smoking ceremony and performance by members of the Illawarra-based Dance Group and was followed by the lighting of Wingecarribee Shire Council’s Christmas tree in Corbett Plaza.
Hundreds of people then followed Santa to Corbett Gardens for a family-friendly Christmas concert and the official opening of the Festival of Lights.
The Festival of Lights will continue in Corbett Gardens every night from 6pm through to Friday, December 26.
The Christmas concert featured a range of performers but one of the highlights was an appearance by Skylar Carmichael to sing the official ‘Angels in our Town’ song.
Mrs Sampson introduced Skylar as a close personal friend and said she had only recently returned from performing in the United States and in Germany.
The Angels in our Town song was written by Julie Haseler-Reilly – one of the co-founders of the annual parade.
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