SANTA delivered some very exciting news at the Central Deborah Gold Mine on Monday.<\/p>\n
The popular Elf Academy will return from 16 to 23 December, and the gold mine will be decorated and transformed into a magical Christmas wonderland.<\/p>\n
CEO of Bendigo Heritage Attractions, James Reade said the Elf Academy was successful last year, and there\u2019ll be a plethora of children\u2019s activities available again.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids can come along and they\u2019ll get their Certificate IV in Elf Training, they\u2019ll learn the important skills it takes to be one of Santa\u2019s helpers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be lots of different activities across the site to keep the kids busy, including Farmer Darryl\u2019s Animal Farm, mascots, arts and crafts, a whole range of activities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, 6000 people attended the week and Mr Reade said he is excited by the news people from Melbourne will be able to travel to regional Victoria from Friday evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cEighty per cent of our visitation comes from Melbourne across all our attractions, so this Friday night we\u2019ll be very excited to welcome Melbourne people back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a really challenging 18 months for our industry so it\u2019s nice to hopefully start normal and continue on and get people back through our doors and showcasing what we can do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something positive to look forward to and we can\u2019t wait to see family and friends and kids get together come December.\u201d<\/p>\n
Activities at the Elf Academy include learning how to care for reindeer, painting ornaments, creating wrapping paper, practice stacking presents and preparing Santa for Christmas. Santa photography will also be available at an additional cost.<\/p>\n