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Opera singers, primary school students and choirs were among the many who performed at the Bendigo Community Carols on Sunday night.
Music teacher at St Frances of the Fields Primary School Helen McCarthy was proud of her choir who performed to their biggest audience ever.
"They did well under pressure," Ms McCarthy said.
The students practised once a week for a whole term in preparation for their moment on stage.
Professional opera singer Merlyn Quaife recently moved to Bendigo to begin her retirement and was invited to sing at the carol evening.
Ms Quaife said Bendigo people were "really friendly" and the city was her "escape hatch" from busy life in Melbourne.
Having sung at Carols by Candlelight at Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl, last night was not her biggest audience but she said it was still a thrill.
WIN TV's Bruce Roberts hosted Community Carols for the sixth year in a row.
Mr Roberts said his wife and two children were at the event with him, which was what Christmas was all about.
With the events in Australia and around the world in the last week, Mr Roberts said it was important to come together, regardless of faith and enjoy community.
Bendigo Youth Choir master Valerie Broad was happy with her choir's performance, especially considering how little time they had to practise this year.
She started the choir in 1984 and said she's still going strong 30 years later.
"I love music, I love children and I love teaching music to children," Ms Broad said.
The Bendigo Advertiser bumped into the main man for the evening, Santa Claus.
He was complaining about the discomfort of wearing his suit in such hot weather.
"You don't even get me air-conditioning in my suit," Santa said.
"I'm looking forward to getting back to the North Pole where it's a bit cooler.
"It was nice weather there today actually. About minus 15 degrees.
"Mrs Claus was trying to get a sun tan but wasn't a pretty sight."
Santa revealed that he had made a detour to Antarctica on his way to Australia to drop off his reindeer.
"They haven't seen (Antarctica) yet, they wanted to have a bit of a look.
"They're enjoying it. They're having a snow fight."
Instead of entering the Community Carols with his reindeer, Santa revealed he had opted for a more hi-tech and culturally appropriate form of transport - a tractor.