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Date: 12/14/2022
HADLEY – The Parks and Recreation Department will be hosting the annual Lunch With Santa and Mrs. Claus event on Dec. 18. The event will start with Santa touring around Hadley at 8:45 a.m., making stops along the way. At 12:30 p.m. Mr. and Mrs. Claus will arrive at Hadley Elementary School for a meet and greet.
Director of Parks and Recreation Greg LaSage said that Santa will be transported by fire truck, and that the elementary school event will be action-packed.
“The day starts with Mrs. Claus and Santa on the fire truck. They’ll go through and make stops at each location that’s listed on the flyer so the kids can meet Santa and touch the fire truck and everything. After all those stops they go to Hadley Elementary School…Once they get to the school, there’s a lot going on, like Christmas themes, arts and crafts activities. We’ll have a lot of games and activities with prizes for the kids. There’ll be a line with a couple step and repeats for pictures. Kids can get their pictures and talk with Santa. We’ll also have pizza, as it is Lunch with Santa,” LaSage said.
He gave credit to the Fire and Police departments for their support.
“We have really good relationships with the Fire Department and the Police Department, they help with a lot of our events,” he said.
If the turn out is similar to last year, LaSage said Santa can expect a big crowd.
“We had probably a couple hundred people there last year, it was a big event. People stayed for the duration and really enjoyed it. It was a really cool event,” LaSage said.
LaSage encouraged all to come and thanked the community for helping out every time.
“It’s a blast. Last year was my first year doing it and people had a great time. There’s volunteers from some of the local organizations that help out, like the Girl Scouts and National Honors Society. A lot of people pitch in to make it happen. The Park and Rec commissioners always help and a lot of people in the community always pull together for our events and it’s really a blessing,” LaSage said.
The event is free for everyone. Those who wish to take pictures with Santa must bring their own camera. A full list of stops can be found on the event flyer on the Parks and Recreation website.