A year of resolutions met and forgotten has past once again, but noone can doubt Wagga’s resolve to throw a cracking New Years Eve party.
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Thousands poured into Apex Park, the Wagga Boat Club and the Country Club for three distinctly themed countdowns before 1.5 tonnes of fireworks rocketed into the clear sky for the city’s biggest ever pyrotechnic display.
“Sydney have eight tonnes and the population is over five million, it’s huge for Wagga. No-one’s ever seen anything like this before,” dealer principal at Thomas Bros Daniel Martelozzo said.
It was all about family fun at Apex with local musicians, face painting, dizzying rides and enough food trucks to feed an army.
Over 400 Hawaiian shirts and leis reigned at The Boat Club, the party animals’ venue of choice, and it was all style and grace at the Country Club with a three course meal fit for 240 kings and queens.
“I think it’s a time for family, the only problem with that is you get older, if we went the other way it would be better!” Mr Martelozzo said.
“We’ve got some fantastic sponsors that put in money, lights, generators, toilets, I can’t name all of them there’s 80 of them but without their help it’d make it a hell of a lot harder to do an event like this.”
After resolving some years ago to take the reigns of the night “when the time was right”, the three parties went off without a hitch for Thomas Bros, despite last week’s algae scare.
Organisers warned party-goers to stay clear of the water after a high blue-green algae level caused the cancellation of planned water sports earlier in the week, but revelers weren’t phased as they lapped up the sunshine and views.
It wasn’t only locals clinking glasses, the lineup drawing smiling faces together from all around the region.
Lorraine Webber and Graham Luff traveled from Gundagai for their first New Years in Wagga and made themselves comfortable on the Boat Club’s balcony.
“There’s nothing on at home so we just thought let’s go to Wagga! We booked into the caravan park and scraped in here and we’ve been here since 4 o’ clock,” Mr Luff said.
“It’s gorgeous down at the beach and really New Years is just another chance to take a few days to have a look around town,” Ms Webber added.