More than 50 businesses and community groups will have their decorated Christmas trees on display as part of the Whittlesea Agricultural Society’s inaugural Christmas Tree Extravaganza event.
Starting Friday, members of the community are invited to the society’s administration building at Whittlesea Showgrounds, and for a gold coin donation, immerse themselves in a Christmas wonderland where the trees and other Christmas-themed displays will be on show.
Whittlesea Agricultural Society president and event organiser Erica Hawke said she had the idea to host a Christmas event for quite some time, and was delighted to see the display come to life.
“I’ve had this idea for years and I would speak to people and ask them where would be a good place to host it. I ended up putting the idea to the society and they said yes to hosting it here,” she said.
“Now that it is being set up, people are coming in and really fascinated by the whole project.”
Having young children herself, Ms Hawke saw the need to be able to offer a Christmas event that was family-friendly in both distance to travel and having appropriate opening hours.
“Kids can’t stay up long enough to see Christmas lights at night. We will be open from midday, and the lights in here will be dimmed so all the Christmas lights light up the room,” she said.
Ms Hawke and the society would like to thank all those who contributed to setting up the event, and for the community coming on board and donating items to ensure the building had been turned into the wonderland she envisioned.
The Christmas Tree Extravaganza will be on display at the Whittlesea Agricultural Society administration building, enter gate one, McPhees Road, Whittlesea, from Friday, until December 23 and will be open from noon to 9pm daily.
People are reminded the event will follow COVID-19 guidelines and they will need to show proof of vaccination and check-in to attend.
Private group bookings and sensory sessions are also available.
To find out more, people can call 9716 2835 or email info@whittleseashow.org.au.
