Community
12 December, 2025
Cultures to unite for Christmas party
RESIDENTS are being invited to a special multicultural Christmas party tomorrow (Saturday, December 13), where family, fun and food are the words of the day.
Charmaine Uy is inviting the community to share in a celebration of culture and the festive season through a volunteer-run party.
She said the idea was born from the increasing number of families from various backgrounds calling Camperdown home.
“I grew up here in Camperdown, went to school here and for years I was the only asian/ non-caucasian student from primary school to high school,” Mrs Uy said.
“My husband is from the Philippines so when he came over in 2006, there were no Filipino friends locally for some time.
“We’ve made friends with fellow Filipinos, Indians, Singaporeans, Malaysians, Thai and Sri Lankins.
“We’ve also noticed that these families normally have the same traditions as the Filipinos, which are big on Christmas, family, food and celebrations.
“It also came to our attention that these families living locally would find Christmas time quite lonely – without extended families, friends and relatives, Christmas here for majority of them was just not the same.”
Early parties were smaller affairs between friends, with shared hosting between all families in backyards.
Mrs Uy said the early parties proved popular, eventually outgrowing backyard celebrations.
“It was great bringing new families and different cultures together,” she said.
“At this time, we didn't realise just how many new families of different backgrounds where around our local area.
“Most we knew, but there were far more that were scattered around south west Victoria such as the farmers, that we didn’t know.
“We decided to open one up to the community to invite everyone along and spread the invitation to those we didn’t know, especially those that only had recently arrived with no friends or social contacts locally.
“This was our very first Multicultural Christmas party held back in 2016 at the Camperdown Theatre.”
This year sees the return of the party to the theatre, which has been shared across various venues around the area.
With the past two years being in conjunction with the Camperdown Badminton Association’s presentation night, this year’s event will also see presentations of the 2025 winners of the badminton pennant.
A raffle will be held throughout the night, with tickets set at $2, or six tickets for $10 for a variety of prizes donated by local businesses.
A Kris Kringle will also be held for adults, with a maximum gift value of $30, while children will be able to enjoy a variety of games and a visit from Santa.
Families are asked to provide a gift for their children with their name on it for Santa to give them.
Mrs Uy said she hoped the night would ensure no-one feels alone, sad or hungry during the festive season.
“With the growing population of diverse backgrounds, people have since made their own little communities and their own Christmas parties, social gatherings and celebrations amongst their own cultures,” she said.
“It fits perfectly with our theme of joining the community together over great people, delicious food, and light-hearted fun and entertainment.
“This is all volunteer based and we do it because we love to spread the Christmas cheer and, with Mark (Uy, husband) and I both in the healthcare field, we know the importance of family, traditions as well as the impact on new migrants and families being isolated, depressed and alone, especially in this festive season.
“The idea is to bring all patrons from south west Victoria in the Corangamite Shire and surrounds together, no matter the race, the ethnicity, the background.”
Live music will be performed by a variety of local musicians, and residents are asked to bring a plate of their favourite traditional dish to share.
“Being completely run by volunteers (our friends and family), all the expense and time, are solely shouldered by us, especially Mark and myself,” Mrs Uy said.
“We would greatly appreciate any business, organisation or individuals, who would love to support our cause and we would humbly accept any donation, whether it be big or small, as a donation for raffles or prizes for the night.
“Just the same with any local talent that would love to perform to a wonderful crowd, please don’t hesitate to contact me before the weekend, and we would happily slot them in.
“Again, we do this all with good will and good intent, to bring the Christmas spirit as well as the hospitability of us Filipinos to the Corangamite Shire.”
Doors of the Camperdown Theatre Royal will be opening at 5pm, with entry costing $10 per person and $5 for children 10 and under to cover hall hire and other expenses.
Read More: Camperdown