Nov. 25—GRAND FORKS — Santa's elves are setting up the Santa Village workshop at a new location this year: 1300 South Washington, the site of the former Eide Hyundai dealership.

Sponsored by the Grand Forks Park District, Santa Village will be open from Monday, Nov. 28, through Dec. 23. Hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; and Sunday, noon-6 p.m.

Admission is a non-perishable food item or a new toy donation. Food items will be given to a local food pantry and toys will be donated to the Community Violence Intervention Center. Cash donations are also welcome, and will be used to provide scholarships for kids whose families can't afford park district activity fees.

The former Eide showroom will be filled with about 60 Christmas trees, said Lynne Roche, the "head elf" at the workshop and special events manager for the park district. Everyone is invited to stop in and meet Santa's elves, sip some cocoa and enjoy the beautifully-adorned trees, Roche said.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will be on site from 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 10, 11, 17 and 18 for story times. A magician will be performing at 1 p.m. on those days.

Anyone who'd like to bring a group of children during Santa Village daytime hours is asked to call the park district office, (701) 746-2750, to schedule an appointment.

Regular visitors to Santa Village will notice new features this year. In a sales office off the showroom, the owners of Picks, a local store that sells vintage and repurposed items, have set up a display of UND clothing and other decorative home goods for sale.

In the adjacent parking lot, Tim Shea's Nursery will sell Christmas trees from a truck donated by Behl's Photography. Free hot chocolate, apple cider and coffee will be provided by "Coffee Camper," a vendor who uses an old camper as a food truck, Roche said.

Many volunteers have helped to get Santa Village up and running this year, including employees of SafeKids Grand Forks, a cadre of retired teachers, and members of a UND fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, she said.

The teachers, especially, "have been great," Roche added. "They're life-savers."

On a day earlier this week, park district workers were busy on site. Brenda Gjelsness was trimming trees, while Helene Feltman and Alyssa Muus were filling bags of goodies to be given to every child who visits Santa Village. Each bag holds treats, craft items and a preprinted letter, with lines for a message, that the child can fill out and send in the pre-addressed envelope.

Muus and Feltman have been working on the project for several days. Feltman said, "It beats sitting at home watching TV or looking at the computer, or doing housework — that will still be there."

Muus, a UND student, pops in to help as her schedule allows, she said. She's a veteran as far as Santa Village preparations go.

"I've been doing this every year since I was in sixth grade," said Muus, 20.

Roche has been the driving force behind Santa Village for 20 years, she said.

In her second year on the job, she launched the festive Christmas experience designed especially for kids, she said. "I started with eight trees that I rented."

What she enjoys most is "being able to be creative, and watch the kids' reaction — they're in awe," she said. "It's something you don't do at home."

Gjelsness is excited about the new location for Santa Village, at Washington and 13th Avenue South. Being at a busy intersection provides more visibility, she said, and, when stopped at the traffic light, people will spot the venue, get curious, and perhaps check it out.

Santa Village "is great for the community," Gjelsness said. "They'll be selling Christmas trees and we'll have a little coffee stand — it's just like a Hallmark movie."