Animal Adventure Park at Harpursville is all decked up for Christmas. Besides the famous giraffe family, the Petting Zoo now has a Santa, reindeer, candies, and loads of fun-packed events.

Ever since Jungle Bells kicked off, one little man has been stealing the show: Arty The Elf.

The little elf has been spending the holiday season befriending animals and birds at the park. His posts on the park’s Facebook page are always accompanied by limericks, which are now going viral on Facebook.

The brains behind the jingles is Jordan Patch, the lively owner of Animal Adventure Park.

Unbeknownst to many, Arty has been a long-time member of the family—ever since the park’s first holiday season in 2013.

“Long before other animal parks and organizations had elves upon their shelves, Arty was already putting in work at Animal Adventure! This is his 5th season of animal antics around the facility,” revealed Patch.

The limericks and photography are done by Patch usually in the evening or the day prior to their posting.

Why Arty?

“The inspiration came from watching my nieces and nephews excited about their Elf. I thought the park should have an elf, so he was acquired and named by Colleen and I,” he said.

Arty was, and still is, a great way for AAP’s followers to get a glimpse of the animals and the seasonal change at the park.

“Arty’s fan base stretches much further than our surrounding community these days, and the demand for a children's book is there — and you know us — we usually listen!”

Don’t Miss Jungle Bells

Jungle Bells, which kicked off on December 2, had a huge turnout, including international visitors.

The park’s first visitor last Saturday was from Australia, said Jordan Patch. “We could not have asked for better weather and the guests took advantage of that,” he added.

Susan Cooke Ballinger, who visited the park with her daughter and grand daughter, had the best time of her life at the Jungle Bells event last Saturday.

“The park was beautifully decorated for the holidays with wreaths on building windows, garland draped on fences, piles of wrapped presents in Santa's workshop, candy-themed decorations hanging on the walls and from the ceiling in Candy Land. There were also yard decorations in the grassy areas,” she said.

“I've traveled extensively throughout the United States and this is absolutely one of my all-time favorite places to visit,” said Ballinger, who visited Animal Adventure Park for the second time.

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