The ‘Glenelf Hunt’ is here and families are invited to solve the riddles and find Santa’s elves in their township as part of a new competition.

The Glenelg Shire Council has launched the ‘Glenelf Hunt’ for 2021, a new campaign to encourage local shopping over the festive season.

Families can undertake a ‘hunt’ to find a series of elves in participating businesses in Portland and Casterton, collect the stickers and submit an entry form to Santa’s mailbox at the Portland or Casterton Library. Each week, four winners will be drawn at random and will receive a $50 local shopping voucher.

Glenelg Shire Mayor Cr Anita Rank said it was a fun, free, family-friendly activity for the community to enjoy this December.

“This is our first year launching the ‘Glenelf Hunt’ as we aim to spread Christmas cheer throughout the Shire,” she said.

“We are teaming up with participating businesses to encourage families to discover the range of items available to purchase locally, all whilst their little ones attempt to find Santa’s elves and win a local shopping voucher.

“It’s also a fantastic opportunity to get out and see our CBDs in their festive glory, with many businesses making the most of our Retail Light and Window Display Competition and providing dazzling and colourful shopfronts.

“So it’s time to get hunting and find Santa’s elves! Simply tune in each week to get the clues, find the elves at the participating businesses, collect the stickers and then submit your entry form to Santa’s mailbox.”

The Glenelf Hunt runs for three weeks from Monday 29 November, finishing on Sunday 19 December.

Riddles will be shared each week via the Glenelg Shire Council website, and participants will need to find all five elves (and subsequently collect all five stickers) to submit an entry form.

Full competition terms and details are available to view via the Glenelg Shire website.