Ready to impress visitors for the Castle reopening this Saturday.
Dolls may not be the first thing you think of when you think of a Castle, yet the Sunshine Castle in Bli Bli has a long and significant history with dolls. In fact, dolls are a big part of the reason the Sunshine Coast has its very own Castle in the first place. Yes, it was built to house fairy-tales and dolls in 1972.
Whilst the Castle has grown and diversified and focussed more on it’s medieval displays over the last couple of decades the original doll museum (added in the early 80’s) has always been a part of the experience and had withstood the test of time.
For better or worse the Sunshine Castle has been known for its dolls and has embraced its doll reputation. The old doll museum featured 2000+ dolls and knick-knack many of which in recent years had seen better days. The dolls had become cult but there was no question that many of the dolls were more than ready to retire.
Then Covid 19 forced the Castle into a long beauty sleep and the Castle team faced with this extraordinary opportunity – decided that it was finally time to get ‘All Dolled Up’.
Talented local artist Khatti von Leigh who had previously designed and painted the murals on the party terrace of the Castle was asked to lead the project and instantly had a vision for the space.
Khatti explains “I have wanted to get creative in that doll museum space since first visiting 15 years ago. The timing was perfect and I was excited to take it on. It did take a while to find the right look for all the different little areas and displays. These projects have a habit of growing with every idea I have. It was very important to me to find backdrops that perfectly show off the beautiful and timeless dolls we have chosen for the new display. I love that it is fresh and new, but still reminds of the old”
The New Look Doll Museum as part of the Castle self-guided tour is ready to welcome visitors from this Saturday when the Sunshine Castle reopens to the public.
Sunshine Castle owner operator Birte Benecke-Uhrig known as Queen B and her team, could not be more excited to welcome visitors again and have ensured they can do so safely. Queen B invites “We really hope that locals alike will seize the moment and explore the treasures in their own backyard, we are super ready to extend everyone the royal treatment!”
Under current restrictions the Castle advises that booking is not necessary but may ensure disappointment when quotas to go through are full.
Tickets can be purchased at the front counter on arrival or pre-ordered over the phone and will allow admission for a 1-hour self-guided tour through the Castle and all its displays including the much loved treasure hunt for the young at heart. The Castle Café remains closed until restrictions ease further in order to allow more people to do the tour. All further details and updates can be found on the Castle website and Facebook.
