The Bundaberg Pageant of Lights is the largest annual community event held at Christmas time in Bundaberg. Drawing large crowds and high community group participation, this year’s event was no exception.

The 2025 event allowed MRQ Bundaberg its first opportunity to continue the long involvement in the Pageant by VMR. Eight of the MRQ Bundaberg members volunteered to be both decorators and pageant participants. They also had one other MRQ participant, “Bob” the base water rescue training dummy, who refused to help decorate, but did volunteer to ride along entwined in twinkling Christmas lights.

Due to the need to keep all vessels available in case of an activation, it was only at 3pm that the team could start decorating at the MRQ Bundaberg Burnett Heads Base to be ready for the 7pm pageant start time. Working furiously, lights were securely attached to both Bundy Rum, their small inshore and river rescue vessel, along with the MRQ Isuzu tow vehicle. By 5pm it was off into the pageant assembly area in the Bundaberg CBD, where the final decorating of tinsel was added.

The pageant started on time at 7pm, but with almost 70 floats or walking community groups, it was almost 8pm before MRQ moved out of the assembly waiting area, as they had pride of place near the end of the very long pageant, just in front of Santa Claus, who is always on the final float. It took around 45 minutes to complete the loop west then back east on Bourbong St in the Bundaberg downtown With the centre road public space on that street, it afforded crowds many vantage points to see floats traveling in both directions.

Returning to the MRQ base around 9.30pm, the team were upbeat at the great response they received from the crowds at the Pageant of Lights, but for now its lights off and put away until next year. Certainly, even more of the Bundaberg community are now aware of MRQ and the great work we continue to do for the boating community throughout Queensland.

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