Santa’s Palisades Visit Works Out–At Corpus

Although rain threatened to wreck the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Holliday Ho!Ho!Ho! festivities last Friday evening, a last-minute change of venue to the Corpus Christi parish hall allowed more than 200 children a chance to sit with Santa and talk about their Christmas wishes. Rob and Victoria Aikman brought their 11-month-old son, Rex, for his first time with Santa. ‘He’ll either be totally shocked, crying or interested,’ predicted Victoria about the visit. Rex managed to make two of his mom’s predictions come true: for the first few minutes he was fascinated with the big bearded man in red, and then he started crying. Friday was also a first for 18-month-old Abraham Balser. ‘We don’t know. He may freak out,’ mom Allison said. Instead, he sat nicely on Santa’s lap, allowing mom and dad ample photo-taking opportunities. For many of the youngest who were not quite comfortable with the tradition, Mrs. Claus graciously gave up her chair, so that moms could sit next to Santa and hold their children. Older sister Ava Irving had no problems with Santa, so she helped 14-month-old sister Hazel by holding her while she sat comfortably on Mr. Claus’ lap. For some longtime residents like Deann Wilken, the visit to Santa hasn’t stopped because she has grown children. Her granddaughter, Kendall Wilken, 3, was waiting in line. Wilken said that the visit to the Palisades event has spanned several generations. ‘We have a picture of me sitting on Santa’s lap on Swarthmore,’ said mom Heather Wilken. Many parents and children arrived before 5 p.m. to watch Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive on a Fire Station 69’s engine. (Santa always parks his sleigh on the station roof.) Accompanying the North Pole couple were Honorary Mayor Gavin MacLeod; Mr. Palisades, Tyler DuBovy; Miss Palisades, Colleen Benko; and Chamber President Brad Lusk. Although the predicted downpour of rain never materialized, parents took advantage of the indoor location, dressing their children in velvet outfits, ‘The community really came together and made the adjustment,’ Lusk said. ‘It’s turned out to be a great event.’ Free hot chocolate and popcorn, face painting and holiday selections from the Palisades Oom PaPa Band all added to the festive evening. After the band finished playing, movies ran on the screen donated by Movies in the Park. Even Chamber of Commerce Secretary Marilyn Crawford admitted that Sponge Bob mesmerized her. The Corpus Christi children’s choir sang holiday tunes. To everyone’s delight, some of the younger children performed an impromptu dance recital, twirling and swaying in time to the music in front of the choir. This was the first year that toys for the ‘Toys for Tots’ campaign were gathered and given to Station 69 for its collection. ‘We did really well with toys,’ Crawford said. ‘This was the first year and, hopefully, we will do even better next year. This is a good thing.’ The Chamber of Commerce would like to thank all of their sponsors and volunteers who made this such a memorable event.