Mysterious elf pops up in Fernie to ‘keep an eye on things’ until Christmas

With just over a week to go until Christmas, a mysterious elf has been popping up in all manner of places in Fernie, a town of about 5,000 people on B.C.’s border with Alberta.

He’s been seen on a chairlift, at a grocery store, in shop windows, even atop a telephone pole to watch the Christmas train roll on by.

Coverage of elf on a shelf on Globalnews.ca:

What he’s doing in Fernie, it’s difficult to say.

A spokesperson was a tad cryptic in an interview with Global News.

“We had word from Santa that there was a secret mission for the elf, and so the elf and his team have been deployed to Fernie to keep an eye on things until Christmas,” the spokesperson said.

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The elf was spotted as early as Dec. 6, when Fernie Academy was celebrating the German Christmas.

“The elf appeared at our school that day, and we thought maybe the elf was friends with St. Nicholas,” said Principal Jocelyn Sombrowski.

“As mysteriously as the elf arrived, he disappeared. So our students think that it is trying to promote goodwill and kindness of the holiday season.”

The elf might still be compiling a naughty and nice list.

But if his mission is to promote the holiday spirit, it’s been a successful one.