PALMER — Megan and Nolan Garvin are nearly through their second season running their passion project, the Christmas Factory at the Alaska State Fairgrounds. With just a couple days left, and a week less to operate, they’ve already had more people take tours than last year.
“It’s been really, really, really good,” Nolan said.
Nolan said they’ve been averaging 250 to 300 people per day. He said they plan to keep expanding the project as time goes on.
“Eventually, we want this to be everyone’s Christmas go-to,” Nolan said.
The Christmas Factory is the first of its kind in the Mat-Su Valley, an immersive and interactive theater experience featuring local actors taking groups on Christmas tours. Cheery elves take guests on tours through colonial buildings near the red gate.
Guests start in the “Mail Room” inside the old, brown church. Children are encourages to bring their letters to Santa. After the introduction and letter session, guests make their way through the workshop where elves’ silly antics are on full display.
“It’s way more than just pictures with Santa,” Nolan said.
The tour continues through the church, out the doors and to the Colony Stage to look at Santa’s sleigh full of presents and take a quick photo break. The tour wraps up at the old, Wineck Barn re-imagined as a sugary treat café with assorted candies and hand-baked goods as decoration. After meeting Mrs. Clause and getting hot cocoa, the tour concludes in Santa’s office where children can sit on his lap for photos.
To fully immerse guests into the Christmas Factory experience, Megan spends a lot of time designing the various stations and props to make it feel cozy and give off the very essence of Christmas, as if Santa and his elves were really getting ready for Christmas right in front of their eyes.
“It’s my passion… I can never get burned out,” Megan said.
Megan makes the designs and Nolan crafts the materials to make her vision a reality.
“I basically tell him what I want and he puts it together,” Megan said with a laugh.
The Christmas Factory is a family endeavor, according to Nolan. He said that all of their children help out and their 14-year-old son designed a toy machine for the workshop.
“We do everything ourselves,” Nolan said.
Megan said they switch up the scripts every year to keep it fresh and actors have plenty of room to improvise. Every tour is its own unique snowflake and the elves play off the group’s energy. There are plenty of portions for children to ask questions and the elves make a point to engage every child on the tour.
Head Elf, Tunde Tedd, a.k.a. “Holly Daze” lavishes the opportunity to spread holiday cheer to guests of all ages.
“It’s an experience for the whole family,” Tedd said.
Tedd said the experience is “actually theater” and the elves never drop character.
“Because we don’t want to kill the magic,” Tedd said.
One of Tedd’s favorite takeaways from overseeing the tours is witnessing sweet and tender moments between families. She said that she loves seeing parents try with passion to immerse their child into the experience.
“The best you can do as a parent is having more experiences with your children, not buying all the presents in the world,” Tedd said. “It’s beautiful.”
Tedd said their mission is to emphasize giving over receiving, fostering the true spirit of the holidays amongst their guests.
“We’re giving something you cannot wrap,” Tedd said.
The Christmas Factory runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. through Monday. To purchase tickets online, visit akchristmas.com.
