THE Narrabri Christmas Street Carnival will enter a new format this year, shifting away from closing the main retail section of Maitland Street.
A carnival meeting was held prior to the July meeting of Narrabri Chamber of Commerce to discuss ideas about changes to the event.
With Maitland Street not closing for the evening, the event will also no longer feature carnival rides.
It will also return to a Thursday evening, to be held on 10 December.
The event is a massive undertaking by the chamber, previously costing $23,000 every year, and is sponsored by local business and industry.
Chamber president Russell Stewart said some local businesses had reported they had lost revenue due to the street closing at 3pm ahead of the evening’s festivities.
As previously reported, Mr Stewart voiced concern with Maitland Street businesses closing for the evening.
“This started 20 years ago as a shopping night,” he told a previous meeting.
“At the end of the day, it’s senseless spending that sort of money on a street carnival if the businesses don’t support it. There’s a lot of work that goes into this.”
To incentivise Maitland Street traders to open for the night, Mr Stewart has suggested that money be provided towards a prize for businesses to reward shoppers on the carnival night.
“If you’re up the street that night and go shopping, your name would go into a draw to win a prize,” Mr Stewart said of the suggested incentive.
This year’s festivities will again include food vendors and street entertainment.
Mr Stewart has welcomed the feedback provided from local businesses about the event.
A driving force behind the event, Mr Stewart said he has also been pleased to get some assistance in organising the festivities which has typically drawn a crowd in the thousands in previous years.
The chamber street carnival was the top agenda item on the night.
Concerns were also voiced about recent crime as well as graffiti with Mr Stewart highlighting its impact on the council and ratepayers.
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