Christmas Day Party Set For Elbow Beach

December 23, 2015

The annual Christmas Day party at Elbow Beach is expected to draw crowds on Friday [Dec 25], with Keep Bermuda Beautiful encouraging attendees to be mindful of leaving the beach clean while enjoying the holidays.

A spokesperson said, “Each year the Christmas Day party at Elbow Beach gets bigger as people put on Santa hats, pack a cooler, and head to the public beach to meet up with friends and family. While the party-goers enjoy the morning and mid-day fun, there are organizations that are helping behind-the-scenes to make it a successful event.

“The Coral Beach & Tennis Club will allow people to park on the Horizons property. St. Paul’s Anglican Church volunteers will help with free parking. Any donations to the church will be gratefully accepted.

“Keep Bermuda Beautiful will put out extra trash bins down on the beach as well as in the parking lot to capture all the picnic debris. On Boxing Day, KBB volunteers will return to the beach to re-sort all the recycling items and bag up all the trash and carry it up the steps to the parking lot.

“The Department of Parks waste collection team will haul the bagged trash away, so that as quickly as possible the beach can become spotless for the remainder of the holiday period.”

KBB Executive Director Anne Hyde said, “KBB has been assisting the Department of Parks for the past seven years in making sure that there are enough trash bins for the Christmas Day celebrations, as well as helping to move the trash off the beach as quickly as possible before any of it blows into the ocean.

“We are very grateful that this has evolved into a collaborative effort with other local stakeholders coming together to make sure that this is a safe and eco-friendly event.”

Boxing Day 2012 cleanup at Elbow - bottles

“Mr. Nik Bhola, General Manager at Coral Beach and Tennis Club, has arranged for the Horizon’s property to be available for parking. The Rev. Anthony Pettit at St. Paul’s Anglican Church and his team of volunteers will assist with parking and if anyone would like to make a small donation to the church that will be gratefully received.

“The extra trash cans from W&E’s Waste Management Section will be placed on the beach by KBB volunteers on Christmas Eve and removed on Boxing Day. Mr. Craig Burt, Parks Officer, will arrange for the collected trash to be removed from the parking lot as soon as possible over the holiday weekend.

“People who are planning to go to the public beach at Elbow for Christmas Day are asked by KBB to assist by helping to clear the beach of all litter and debris. Use the trash bins. Help if you can by carrying your trash up the steps to the trash bins in the parking lot. Park safely at Horizon’s and avoid the possibility of getting a parking ticket.

“Guest workers with nowhere to spend Christmas dinner started the gathering at Elbow Beach years ago and it has evolved over the years to include locals and visitors. Last year nearly 2,000 people attended. KBB volunteers moved more than 2,000 pounds of debris off the beach the next day at KBB’s Boxing Day cleanup.

“The Department of Parks cannot be expected to do it all especially during a holiday weekend, so KBB has willingly stepped in to help with community service.”

Ms. Hyde said, “This year we are reminding attendees to use the trash bins, or even better, bring their trash off the beach and dispose of at home. There are no event organizers or cleaners, but with everyone’s help, this can become a ‘Leave No Trace’ event.

“Let’s all celebrate happy holidays and healthy beaches. All are welcome to return to Elbow Beach on Boxing Day from 10.00am to 12.00pm and help with the KBB cleanup.”

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Category: All, Environment

Comments (9)

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  1. Maddog says:

    To all party goers – You take alot of effort to plan what you will bring to the event. Please make the same effort in planning to take everything back home with you. How is this different from hosting a party in your own home? Do you leave all the trash in the yard and throughout the house expecting someone else to clean it up? Would be interested to know how many party goers actually join the clean up the next day…any bets? ….likely NONE.

  2. mommaoftwo says:

    I hate to point out the obvious, but that is a lot of champagne bottles. It’s a shame and I in fact am horrified that so many bottles are left on a beach or put in the trash cans to be collected and sorted out by individuals of the KBB. People, take your items that you bring to the beach away with you when you leave. That’s how bare feet will be cut, because of a broken bottle on a beach. Common sense is not common I guess…

  3. Curious says:

    I think it’s a lot BS too if you make the mess clean it up! Plus if it was a bunch of locals of a different color they would have been arrested and provisions would def not have been made for parking n all this volunteer help! Just goes to show who is considered a priority in this country n what also makes certain people feel comfortable!

    • Sick says:

      And here is the race card!! Have a good xmas Curious from a white young bermudian

    • Keep Bermuda Beautiful says:

      @Curious Just for the record, KBB is actively working for the benefit of ALL residents of Bermuda. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, political affiliation or economic rating. KBB is one of several organizations that have worked to implement Waste Management Plans for public events like Beachfest, End-to-End, Rugby Classic and this event at Elbow which is open to everyone. The organizers and hosts of any public event can get “Special Event Bins” from W&E’s Waste Management Section by applying for the free bin loan in advance. Any organizers can plan ahead to ask local stakeholders if parking might be available on a nearby property so that participants don’t get parking tickets, no matter where the event will take place on the Island and no matter who will be attending. We certainly agree with your statement, “…if you make the mess clean it up!” Ultimately, KBB’s goal for all public events to become No Trace events. There is no excuse for littering and if there is no trash bin available, take the trash home with you to dispose of it properly.

  4. Triangle Drifter says:

    I’ll bet that if a couple of big dumpsters, one for trash & one for recyclables, they would get used & KBB would not have near the clean up as they will without the dumpsters. A 50 gal trash barrel get filled in no time.

    • Keep Bermuda Beautiful says:

      @Triangle Drifter While placing dumpsters in a location may seem like a smart solution, it will attract dumping of all categories of trash coming from all over the island. Some people are unaware that different TYPES of trash go to different disposal sites. Burnable goes to Tynes Bay incinerator. Appliances, metal and concrete blocks and all NON-burnable go to the Airport landfill. Non-burnable items that can be recycled or recovered like glass bottles, metal cans, air-conditioners, electronic waste, vehicle batteries go to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). So putting dumpsters in places often ends up causing more problems for the waste handlers….where do you haul a dumpster that has co-mingled mixed waste?

  5. NO MORE WAR says:

    And park sensible