With Christmas creeping ever-closer, Geelong council’s elves have been sneaking out in the dead of night and quietly decorating the city ahead of its annual Yuletide celebration.
Late on Wednesday night the tech-nerd elves were dispatched to the waterfront to begin testing the lighting display Geelong’s iconic floating Christmas tree ahead of its official launch in just over a week.
At the same time, a short distance away, electrician elves were suspending and connecting up the massive catenary lights star at the corner of Moorabool and Malop Streets.
Traffic elves closed off the busy intersection to keep their busy buddies safe.
The Lighting of the Tree, which will take place on Saturday November 11, signals the start of Geelong’s annual Christmas celebrations.
The 25 metre tree is covered with 11,000 reflective discs and LED lights, which combine to produce spectacular sound-and-light shows that can be controlled by visitors themselves.
The catenary star, an add-on to the catenary lights which were installed in 2015, is the city’s other festive centrepiece.
The combined display, the brainchild of former Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons, can be seen from the top of the Moorabool Street hill to the foreshore, and from Eastern Gardens to Johnstone Park.
