The town’s Christmas program drew crowds from as far as Melbourne on Friday nights throughout December for a twilight market, lights, street parade, live entertainment, and an outdoor cinema. 

Clunes Tourist and Development Association (CTDA) president Steven Hunter estimated around 4000 people visited the town for the street parade of community floats on December 8.

“The economic impact based on our own measurements is in excess of quarter of a million dollars of activity brought to the town across all of the businesses. This is not taking into consideration people coming to Clunes for the first time who are going to come back.”

The Christmas in Clunes event, which first began in 2016, offered a different experience of Christmas for residents, compared to two years before when it remained a “quiet little town”. 

The project was lead by Clunes Neighbourhood House, with the help of a group of around 15 volunteers.

“We’ve got a good base of passionate volunteers who have achieved a renewal of the town, and in the last five or six years particularly, the developments in this town have been significant,” Mr Hunter said. 

Data from the 2016 Census shows 27 per cent of people in Clunes participated in voluntary work with an organisation or group, a higher percentage than the state and nationwide rate of around 19 per cent. 

The Christmas in Clunes event is expected to grow and expand in coming years, but organisers say they will ensure it retains a small agricultural town feel.

“It is and always will be a community based event,” Mr Hunter said. 

“We want the town to succeed and thrive but our community is strong because we are small. It will always be an agricultural community parade.”

The Clunes Christmas lights will operate until January 6 2018.