Santa Claus is coming to Johnston Memorial Park

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The land line inside Glenn Carroll’s Johnston home was ringing off the hook, almost as though the telephone call was urgent. So, Carroll, who had just arrived home from a business trip, picked up the phone and quickly said, “Hello!”

There was a brief silence before a man with a deep tenor-like voice replied, “Hello Glenn, it’s Santa Claus and I’m checking to see if your annual Holiday Festival is still scheduled for Saturday, December 9?”

Carroll, who is the long-serving president of the Johnston Community Center Association, was dumbfounded; he just couldn’t believe the call.

Needless to say, Carroll was as star-eyed as the children Santa Claus will talk with this Saturday, December 9, when he makes a special trek from the North Pole to Johnston War Memorial Park for the JCCA’s annual Holiday Festival.

“This one will be special, Santa,” Carroll exclaimed while talking with Jolly Old Saint Nick. “This will be the tenth year our JCCA has hosted this Festival for all the families that live in Johnston.”

To which Santa said, “Good work, young man. I’ll be seeing you Saturday.”

The smile stayed on Carroll’s face and it didn’t take long for the JCCA prexy to call his best friend Glen Gilmore to pass along the great news that Santa Claus will, in fact, be at Saturday’s Holiday Festival.

“Santa told me he’s very busy right now,” Carroll told Gilmore, “but he will make a quick trip here Saturday just for us and obviously all our children.”

The Holiday Festival, which is held in conjunction with Mayor Joseph Polisena’s office and the Johnston Parks and Recreation Department, will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. and will include food, music, refreshments and even a bike raffle.

The bike raffle, which is a Rite of December in town per the JCCA, is only open to Johnston residents.

“It’s always a special event for young and old…the families who live in Johnston,” Polisena observed when he received word that Santa Claus will be in town Saturday. “It is also a free event and we’re hoping it helps those in need during the holiday season.”

Polisena, in fact, made a request of sorts to people who are planning to attend the Holiday Festival to bring along a non-perishable food item for canned goods that will be distributed to needy families.

There’s yet another side to the Holiday Festival that people of all ages have enjoyed in recent years, and that’s the JCCA offering hot chocolate and snacks to all those in attendance.

Moreover, Okie’s Amusements will be on hand with its old-time fire engine and old-time train that will provide free rides around Johnston War Memorial Park for families and children during the two-hour event.

“The JCCA is proud to be able to sponsor this year’s Holiday Festival for the Town of Johnston,” Carroll said. “We’re especially elated that Santa will be making a return visit and that is certainly a sign we’ve been nice and not naughty.”

 

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