Christmas Run to cap off 80th year in style

SANTA Claus’ journey throughout the region will take an exciting turn into Armstrong Creek on Christmas Eve.

With the assistance of volunteers from Grovedale CFA, Santa Claus will make six stops, starting in Grovedale, before heading into the Charlemont and Ashbury estates, and then making three final stops in Mount Duneed.

Community engagement lead at Grovedale CFA Rebecca Frost said while the number of spots for this year’s Christmas Eve Santa Run has been reduced noticeably, the brigade is prepared for more children than ever before.

“Although we don’t have COVID-19 as prevalent as we did last year, there are a number of road blocks and closures in our area that have made a several of our usual spots inaccessible,” Ms Frost said.

“So, while there are less parks that we will be stopping at, that means Santa and our volunteers will be remaining at each spot for longer, which we think is terrific.”

In partnership with The Sweets Lab based in Geelong, the Brigade has purchased 500 additional bags of lollies to accommodate for a larger number of children, after running out in 2021.

At a reduced cost, The Sweets Lab owner Adam Kerrins sourced over 1,100 bags of lollies for Saturday’s Grovedale CFA Santa Run, an increase from 750 last year.

“Adam has done us a massive favour and he has already offered to help us out next year, so we are really grateful for him,” Ms Frost said.

Grovedale CFA and its volunteers look forward to the Christmas Eve Santa Run each December to wrap up a successful year of operations and than the community in the process.

“We are here because of our community, we get our funding from our community, so this is our way of saying thank you for all the support the community has given us over the year,” Ms Frost said.

“They came to our open days, they came to our 80th birthday earlier this year, so it’s great to meet the community face-to-face on our terms before the year runs out.”

The Grovedale Fire Brigade’s Christmas Eve Santa Run will run as follows on Saturday:

• Grovedale Recreation Reserve, Grovedale – 2.30pm
• Glenlee Regional Park, Charlemont – 3.00pm
• Ashbury Estate Park, Ashbury – 3.30pm
• Aviation Park, Mount Duneed – 4.00pm
• Harmony Park, Mount Duneed – 4.30pm
• Bunjils Nest Playground, Mount Duneed – 5.00pm

Head to Grovedale CFA’s Facebook page for any last-minute changes.