April 9, 2021 12477076-DL02-21
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Pulling strings for kids’ show Geelong youngsters got up close and personal with party animal Gruff and the not-so-scary Dazzle in a store window puppet circus on Tuesday. “Their little noses were pressed right up against the window,” children’s entertainer Nic Dacomb said. The puppets have been part of Nic’s coterie for several years and their circus is one of his four activities for Storyfest in central Geelong. “The best thing about them is I don’t have to pay them that much to perform,” he laughed. “Gruff’s always jumping around having a great time. He loves to sing a song called Puppets Love to Party – he gets the kids up and dancing. “Dazzle’s a friendly monster that sometimes tries to be scary, but kids laugh at him – he’s not really that scary.” Nic was thrilled to have dozens of school holiday gigs booked across Geelong and the Surf Coast as the COVID-19 situation improves. “It’s great to be doing what I love again,” he said. Details: centralgeelong.com.au/ storyfest Luke Voogt
Nic Dacomb introduces Mia to Gruff and Dazzle. (Louisa Jones) 233407_07
Shot in the arm for tourism Geelong tourism received a desperately-needed “shot in the arm” as Victorians flocked to the region for Easter and the school holidays. “We weren’t seeing any availability from any of the [caravan] parks within the region,” Greater Geelong and Bellarine Tourism executive director Brett Ince said. This had a flow-on effect for local hotels and motels, according to Mr Ince. “On a normal Easter or peak weekend you would still see some motels and hotels with
availability,” he said. “When we were looking at some of the metrics there were only one or two rooms vacant on the Saturday and the Sunday at motels. People really want to get out there and recover, reconnect and recharge after the 12 months that we’ve had.” The Surf Coast Highway was packed with traffic as Melburnians and regional Victorians flocked to the coast last Thursday and on Good Friday. While tourism in greater Geelong and the Surf Coast had rebounded somewhat from COVID-19 over Christmas, events such
as Victoria’s snap lockdown had affected consumer confidence, Mr Ince said. But easing restrictions, excellent weather and Easter kicking off the school holidays had combined to provide a “real shot in the arm”, he said. Barwon Coast’s caravan parks and campgrounds were full to capacity, with accommodations services manager Daniel Payne saying “it was a bumper Easter for the parks and the town”. Cafes, pubs and beaches in Geelong, Torquay and on the Bellarine Peninsula were also
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bustling over the long weekend. Driftwood Cafe owner Ty Simons described Good Friday as “quieter than usual” but said the weekend was “very solid” and Monday was “out of this world”. Ocean Grove Hotel’s Andy McDonough said he experienced a large increase in trade for Easter Saturday and Sunday. “With the warm weather and customers being able to enjoy the outdoor areas at the hotel, it has carried on into the week with strong bookings … hopefully it stays this way all school holidays,” he said.
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By Luke Voogt