Kids Fest 592 to host ‘Brunch with Santa and Road Parade’
A barrage of colourful characters like the Grinch and Mistress Clause, Santa and the unforgettable Rudolph the Reindeer are all things featured at places like Disneyland and amusement parks worldwide. But this year, Guyana will see its own kind of Disneyland in the form of the Kids Fest 592 ‘Brunch with Santa and Road Parade.” Natalya Thomas is the mind behind the Kids Fest 592 brand and the pioneer of the event ‘Brunch with Santa and Road Parade’. Taking place on December 17 at the Promenade Gardens, Brunch with Santa and Road Parade will bring Christmas alive for Guyanese children.
Natalya has been hosting events of this nature for the past six years. This year, however, will be bigger and better with more support for larger sponsors and a brand that has grown over time, she says.
For the road parade, Natalya drew inspiration for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. She aims to put together a similar celebration with a hint of Guyanese authenticity. “We [also] have the brunch aspect that will begin at 11:00. Apart from that we will have the handing over of gifts and photos with the Grinch and Santa happening between the 11:00 to 02:00. There also be vendors that will be there selling also,” she explained.
One of the event’s highlights is the concert happening in the afternoon of December 17. With appearances from some of Guyana’s biggest names in music making an appearance, Brunch with Santa aims to retain most of what Guyanese children know Christmas to be. “During the afternoon, we will have a Christmas concert with singers such as Calvin Burnett and some up-and-coming artistes. We will have a choir, steel pan, dancers and spoken word from poetry personalities and a Christmas tree light up at the end,” Natalya stated. “We have a lot of activities planned for the event. This year we will have the Grinch as well as really big slay for the road parade and a big arch for entry,” Natalya told the Pepperpot Magazine.
Her mission of bringing a new spin on Christmas in Guyana for children came from her own childhood. “As a young girl, I always wanted to go to Disneyland or to have an experience like this,” Natalya shared. “I remember my dad taking my other siblings to Disneyland and I was not given the opportunity to go because I was not given my visa.” As a child this greatly impacted her and because of this she wanted to create something similar in Guyana. “I decided that I was going to create an event of this nature to that storybook effect just to give children that experience that many families cannot afford to,” she added.
With appearances from Georgetown’s Mayor and the sharing of countless gifts, planning an event like this was no walk in the park. Natalya is an event coordinator by profession, but Kids Fest is one of the events that require the most time and planning. “In planning I have to be able to plan and be strategic about it.” A large part of Natalya’s support system are her sponsors.
“We have to have a lot of financial backing; it takes a lot of logistics and you have to invest before,” Natalya shared. She entered into her first few Kids Fest with the sole purpose of creating something that will draw and captivate children. That sole purpose remains, but as the years have passed, the event has grown, as well as the variety of the attractions available. Sponsors like Banks, and Digicel have worked with Natalya in putting together gifts, hampers and attractions. “The big sponsors offset the majority of the expenses, that is why it is important to show that you have some kind of consistency.”
Her track record and willingness to continue events like this year’s Brunch with Santa and the accompanying road parade is undeniably strong and Natalya has no intentions of stopping. On the 17th, Natalya and her team of sponsors hope to give Guyana’s children a unique experience coupling Macy’s Road Parade with Guyanese music, Christmas characters taking photos with our country’s children and forging memories that will last a lifetime.
