By RON BAXLEY JR. T&D Correspondent
NORTH – Santa Claus loves his sweets, including the cookies left for him, and he is going to love the sweets-filled Christmas at the North Pole in North on Saturday Dec. 8.
Santa Claus will be among the entries in the Christmas at the North Pole Parade that begins at 10 a.m. that day. The 1972 North Eagles State Football Champions will serve as the grand marshal of the procession.
Santa will return between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. to visit with children.
Suzanne Reed of the Christmas at the North Pole Committee, said, “We have purchased two Christmas decorations that go up on the power poles. We are trying to conserve our funds until we see how much total we make for this year (before purchasing additional decorations).”
A funnel cake vendor as well as a vendor from Norway, who serves deep-fried Oreos and deep-fried bananas will be at this year's event. A local baker will also be selling slices of homemade cake, whole cakes and brownies, Reed said.
“We are going to be having an old fashioned cake walk around 12:30 p.m. that day. People from North are donating cakes for the cake walk including pound cake and red velvet,” she added.
A total of 25 craft and business vendors will be featured at Christmas at the North Pole, selling everything from wreaths to quilts to custom-made jewelry and hand-painted clay pots. Six food vendors will also be selling their goodies, and the Christmas at the North Pole Committee will sell hot dogs and hamburgers.
“We have a good barbecue truck that is coming out of Columbia, Eric’s Que. We are going to have a variety of sweet and savory," Reed said.
A variety of local singers and choirs as well as the High-steppin’ Cloggers from Orangeburg will be there to entertain the crowd.
Another highlight of the event will be a Christmas Cookie Contest at 4 p.m. Entries will be judged on taste, creativity and presentation.
Tickets for a 50/50 raffle will be sold throughout the day to raise additional funds for Christmas decorations for North. The drawing will take place at 5 p.m.
Putting an exclamation point on the day will be a fireworks display at 5:30 p.m.
For more information about the event, email ChristmasattheNorthPoleSC@gmail.com or visit the Christmas at the North Pole Facebook page.