FREEPORT

L.L. Bean kicked off its annual Northern Lights Celebration on Friday with reindeer, Santa’s workshop and a 600 balsam fir tree forest at its flagship store in Freeport.

The forest, events and visits with Santa Claus will run through Dec. 31.

A 30-foot yurt on the campus acts as a warming station, where hot cocoa is served, as well as a letter writing station with a mailbox for deliveries to the North Pole. The discovery forest is lit at night and its balsam fir trees are from St. Francis-based Kelco Industries in Maine.

The Kell family operates a 425-acre farm along the St. John River, and harvests 10,000 trees a year. After the celebration, the trees in Discovery Park will be mulched and the wood chips will be donated to a local outdoor organization, according to the store.

Children can visit Santa Claus in his workshop, from 4- 8 p.m. Fridays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Several reindeer also make an appearance on the weekends, contained in a large pen outside of the store. Horse-drawn wagon rides are also part of the activities offered during the season, running from 3-7 p.m. Dec. 2-23.

Heidi Parker, of Freeport and mother of twins, Vivian and Jeffrey, said the family comes to L.L. Bean for the events four times a week during the celebrations.

Jim Good of Yarmouth brought his 18-month-old granddaughter, Rosie, to see the reindeer, adding he is continuing on a tradition from when he brought Rosie’s older brother to the L.L. Bean holiday activities.

A full schedule of events is available by clicking the Northern Lights Celebration link at LLBean.com.