Father of three Cory Leathem said he fondly remembered the Christmas street parties almost a decade ago, including the market stalls, rides and presents from Santa and his children were envious.

“I normally take them to Carols by Candlelight and we see Santa and we drive around three or four nights trying to cover the whole of Orange looking at the Christmas lights – they love it,” he said. 

The festival first ran in 1997 when there were a number of empty shops along Summer Street.

As the years progressed it regularly suffered from antisocial behaviour and 2010 was its final year. 

But Mr Leathem pointed out the weekend’s Halloween event in Lithgow went off without a hitch.

“There were no issues and the whole town loved it – my kids had their photos taken with everything they could find,” he said. 

“If it came back, it would bring the community a lot closer together – there’s really not a lot on for families because the food and wine events are aimed at adults.”

POLL: Have your say ...

Mr Leathem said if there was interest in organising an event, he would happily be involved and a committee dedicated to the task would be able to handle the management of road closures, security and attractions.

Councillor Jason Hamling, who chairs Orange City Council’s sport and recreation committee and also has young children, said he always welcomed discussion on the issue. 

However, he also pointed out the funding originally dedicated to the street party was diverted to the Carols by Candlelight and New Year’s Eve Party Under the Stars events.

“The fireworks have been successful and that’s a gold coin donation for charity and we’ve also got the carols so if we started a Christmas party, we would have three events in a week,” he said.

Cr Hamling said the council had also included almost $20,000 for Christmas decorations this year to give Orange a more festive feel. 

Mr Leathem also posed the question on social media, where many also shared fond memories and others remembered the trouble. 

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