Hi friends,

Bayside Council has recently decided not  to continue with the "Carols by the Sea"  event that has been held for long at  the beach at Brighton-Le-Sands. Please sign this Petition so that council reconsiders the decision and  brings a smile back to our children's and adults faces , who  miss the festival a lot.  Also hoping that local area MP's heed the call and work hard with council  so that this festival that has run for many many years isn't discontinued.

Also below is a letter penned to local Council and MP's. hoping the community will be heard!

 

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Letter to Bayside Council and Local MP's:

 

Addressed To: The Hon. Mayor Dr.Christina Curry, Deputy Mayor,
All Councillors, General Manager of Bayside Council

Attn: Councillors for ward 5 Heidi Douglas, Paul Sedrak and Ed McDougall
CC: Hon. MP’s Linda Burney, Chris Minns, Steve Kamper, Ron Hoenig 

I am writing about the much loved Carols by the Sea  event that the people in Brighton-Le-Sands  and surrounds have so much loved and cherished over the many many years, it has been a hallmark of Brighton-Le-Sands
It has been a festival that brings together the young and the mature, healthy and the frail,  people from all walks of life across religions, cultures, countries, local and international visitors to Sydney,  to celebrate the spirit of Christmas. And all this with the  beautiful blue ocean as the backdrop  and the white sands of the bay.

So when I recently heard from disappointed members on our local area forums that they have heard  from council that the festival wouldn't continue as it has done for years, I was   truly shocked to hear that someone in council can play with community  sentiments, by denying the community  an event that has been so deeply ingrained in out local way of life. 

A council reply letter to one of our local members mentioned that alternative venues would be hosting Carol movie nights instead at Bexley Park, Botany Pool and at Wolli Creek. Well, with due respect to all those new movie night ideas,  let me remind council of the facts and the significance of this unique venue to Brighton and surrounds.

Carols by the Sea is a unique sea side festival held for years in Brighton-Le-Sands and is unlike any other in Sydney or maybe all of Australia. Our children have looked forward to it every year and so has everyone else. The Carols, singing, Santa, the reindeer's, the decorations, the candles, the love, the white sands, the blue sea as the backdrop,  the participation and sponsorship's  by local banks and other businesses, the positive impact on our local businesses and Brighton as a brand have all made this festival an inseparable part of Brighton-Le Sands. 

And yet, here's a short sighted decision to take this all away from us. And not just that, this decision promises to wipe away the smiles from the faces of little children who look forward to heralding the Christmas season and holidays with Santa and  Carols at this unique beachside location, that brings people from all walks of life together.

While  the other new venues council plans to  hold Carol movie nights is fine, they cannot replace what this unique beachside  location and  festival has to offer at Brighton and what it has meant to residents in the area over many many  years. 
 
I have attached pictures from the event in 2019 that speak for themselves and I am sure will make you rethink your decision. Can you please have one look at the pictures from 2019 and truly say the movie nights can replace that?

Here is a fervent request to Council, councillors,  local MPs  Steve Kamper, Chris Minns, Ron Hoening. Linda Burney and anyone else I may have missed to please  have a chat with the decision  makers at council to give back to  our community our much beloved Carols by the Sea festival.

In particular I would like t  call out the Ward 5 councillors Heidi Douglas, Paul Sedrak, Edward McDougall and also local MP's Steve Kamper and Linda Burney, who represent us in our voting area. I would like   to  remind them if they are unaware,  of the significance that this festival has to the residents of Brighton-Le-Sands, surrounding suburbs and  Bayside council as a whole and to take all steps necessary so that this beloved seaside Carols festival is not snatched away from us.

It's not too late to return to the community what they  truly seek and has been rightly theirs,

Yours sincerely.

Sanjay Colaco,

Concerned resident of Brighton-Le-Sands and Bayside Council