Blue Moose back in Boort

Published on 23 December 2013

The Blue Moose is back!

Boort’s annual Christmas/New Year café for teenagers and families will open its doors again later this month for 10 busy days.

Run by Christian training organisation Youth Dimension, with support from the Boort Baptist Church, the program is based around a café operating at the James Boyle Hall, offering live music, games, snacks and conversation.

The café will be open from Sunday 29 December to Tuesday 7 January from 8pm to midnight.

The group is also planning a Family Fun Night on New Year’s Eve, a primary-aged program on 2-3 January and the Big Boort Brekky on Saturday 4 January, all at James Boyle Hall.

Youth Dimension has been running its summer program since 1977, known for many years as Hard Rock Café, but changing its name several years ago to Blue Moose.

Boort team leader Paul Bremner said this month’s visit would be the eighth time the program had come to the town.

“We have 17 people on the team, mostly from Melbourne, but also a couple from Mansfield,” Mr Bremner said.

“Besides the listed activities, we’ll usually spend our time visiting some elderly residents, playing music at the retirement home or hospital, doing some garden tidy-up work or out on the lake with local kids.

“It’s a lot of fun.”

Boort Baptist Church minister Stephen Field said the cafe had become a regular feature of the school holidays for many local teenagers.

“On a busy night, they might get 30 or 40 kids there and it certainly gives them plenty of activities to do,” Mr Field said.

Boort is one of six towns in south-eastern Australia to host Blue Moose teams this year, along with Wye River, Khancoban, St Arnaud, Mansfield and Port Augusta in South Australia.