Crowds flock to Melbourne's Moomba parade

Among the parade's 2000 performers were a group of warriors from
the Nga Hoe Waka cultural group, who performed a fearsome New
Zealand haka, their eyes rolling and tongues flickering at
transfixed children in the crowd lining Swanston Street. And, clad
in beige robes, Buddhist nun Venerable Chueh Shan rattled aloft
orange, white and blue plastic hands.

The Brisbane-based nun said she was greatly impressed with the
parade and its multicultural theme. "Melbourne does it very well,"
she said.

Melbourne Mayor John So was in his element, springing up from
his roadside seat to pose for photos — but his clapper sat
unused in his lap when the golden robes of the Falun Dafa
Association of Victoria came into view. It wasn't until Falun Dafa
had moved on and a group of Indonesian Garuda dancers began fanning
their rainbow-coloured wings, that Cr So picked up his clapper
again.

North Melbourne resident Sara Deacon said she brought her young
family to experience the old-school parade atmosphere: "We wanted
our child to experience a traditional parade, like the Moomba we
used to go to when we were kids."

When the parade ended families sprawled on the grass next to the
Yarra River to watch the waterskiing and chomp on battered sausage
on a stick or dip into "family-sized" buckets of pink fairy
floss.

Those who withstood the effects of sun, water and the sugar
enjoyed the fireworks over the river at 9.30pm.