Frequently Asked Questions

The parade starts on the corner of the Esplanade and Knuckey  street. Participants will drive, march, walk and dance down Knuckey and turn right on into Cavenagh Street, then they’ll head right down Bennett Street (this is the main stage area) and depart from Herbert Street! 

You can view the parade route here. 

City of Darwin and the Darwin Waterfront have confirmed that parking at the following car parks will be free from 3pm for the A Very Darwin Christmas Pageant. 

• West Lane Carpark 

• State Square Carpark  

• Fort Hill (Darwin Waterfront) 

• Civic Centre 

• Nichols Place Carpark 

• Dragonfly Carpark 

The best place to watch the parade is on one of the key streets the route passes (Knuckey, Cavenagh and Bennett Street).  

Knuckey Street is perfect if you’re bringing smaller children, as there will be activities and food trucks set up in Raintree and Tamarind Park. 

Cavenagh Street is perfect if you are planning on bringing your own chairs and rugs to really settle in and watch the pageant. Entertainers will also be roaming up and down Cavenagh Street entertaining families and children while you wait for the floats!  

Bennett Street is where the main stage will be, and is also the last street of the parade route before they finish for the evening – it’s also close to the Lord Mayor’s Lighting of the Christmas Tree which is held after the parade finishes.  

Inbound services will travel via Daly St and Smith St and terminate at Searcy St. Please note the Darwin Interchange will be closed between 4:00pm – 8pm.

For more information, please visit www.nt.gov.au/publictransport or contact Public Transport on 8924 7666.

From 3pm, the following road closures will be in place: 

• The Esplanade between Smith Street and Herbert Street.  

From 4.30pm, the following road closures will be in place: 

• The Esplanade between Smith and Herbert Street. 

• Knuckey Street from Esplanade to Cavenagh Street 

• Cavenagh Street from Kuckey Street to Bennett Street 

• Bennett Street from Cavanegh Street to Mitchell Street  

• Herbert Street from Esplanade to Mitchell Street 

• Mitchell Street between Knuckey and Bennett Street 

The A Very Darwin Christmas Pageant kicks off at 5.30pm with the Christmas parade, and finishes with the Lord Mayor’s Lighting of the Christmas Tree at 7pm. 

There will be live entertainment throughout the whole pageant including music, dancing and joyful Christmas Carols!  

You can view the full program here. 

Darwin City hosts a range of delicious venues where you can get a meal before or after the pageant.  

If you’re looking for a snack option to tie you over before dinner, the following food trucks will be trading in the following areas: 

Smith Street (behind main stage)

• Cheeky Churros 
• The Potato Man 
• Hot Dogs and Nachos 

Raintree Park

• Fairy Floss and Popcorn  

Tamarind Park 

• Sunshine Slushies
• Water Bubbler by Power and Water

Rain, hail or shine – the Christmas Pageant will go-on!  

Being in November, it might be a good idea to pack an umbrella, but we also recommend joining the Facebook Event to keep up to date with any event updates. 

To ensure our attendees and pageant participants are safe, if there is a storm or lightning in the area, then the parade will be paused until it moves away.  

There are several disabled parks in the above and underground carparks, there are also on-street parking available as normal outside the pageant route.  

There will also be a dedicated accessible drop off point before the pageant starts at Tourism Top End Bennet Street, before road closures at 4pm. Please review the road closure timetable before timing your visit.

Due to the road closures, on-street parking on the pageant route will not be available.  

Unfortunately the A Very Darwin Christmas Pageant will not be live streamed. 

Be careful of posts/people selling tickets to ‘live stream’ the event – these are scams.  

Are you on the naughty list because you forgot to register a float for this year’s Pageant? We will try our best to accommodate late float registrations, email us today at: hello@averydarwinchristmas.com.au

We have developed a range of blogs to help ignite your imagination when it comes to building and decorating your float, these include:  

• How to build a float at home  

• How to upcycle your Christmas Pageant costume   

• Tips on how to make your float sustainable   

Check out our blog page for more articles!  

We would love to see your children and furry friends participate in the Christmas Pageant, please remember:  

• Children must be supervised by an adult before, during and after the Pageant.  

• Animals are also permitted but an animal-drawn vehicle or an animal that is being ridden is considered to be a vehicle under the road rules. A person riding an animal is considered a rider and, for most road rules, the term driver includes riders.  

• Other animals such as dogs and cats will be assessed and approved on a case-by-case basis, please email us at hello@averydarwinchristmas.com.au  

Primary schools in the Greater Darwin region has the opportunity to win the use of one of three Christmas themed mini floats, plus $1,000 to help their school get involved in the A Very Darwin Christmas Pageant 2024. 

The winners of this year’s competition were:

Year 1 & 2: Durack School NT (121.5 decibel reading)

Year 3 & 4: Mother Teresa Catholic Primary School (122.6 decibel reading)

Year 5 & 6: Bees Creek Primary School (123.2 decibel reading)