An entire day of Santa fund comes to RR this Saturday!

By Ken Johnston
Editor

The air space has been cleared of all traffic this Saturday for the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus from the North Pole.
Rainy River will be hosting its annual Christmas Extravaganza this Saturday and it promises to be a fun filled day for youngsters and their families!
Santa will be coming in under the cover of darkness early Saturday morning so that his reindeer will have all day to rest. After a hearty breakfast to keep him fat and jolly, Santa will begin his day at the Rainy River Recreation Centre at 10 a.m.
A photographer will be on hand to take pictures of kids with Santa. Parents can buy a CD of their kid’s photos for a fee. This is not the traditional visit with Santa where he listens to their wishes and gives them a treat. That will take place later in the day (3:30 p.m.). Photos with Santa will continue until 3 p.m.
While Santa is busy, shoppers looking for something special for loved ones may find it at a special Christmas shopping sale, also upstairs at the Rec. Centre. As of Monday there were already 11 confirmed vendors renting tables, including bake tables, candles, and much much more! Anyone wanting to rent a table can contact Nicole Blakeney at the Best Start Hub at 852-3362 ext. 2.
As parents enter the Rec. Centre with their kids, they will be given a special coupon for free hot dogs and hot cocoa for each child. Beginning at 1 p.m. they can redeem them. They are compliments of the Northern Lights Credit Union and the Rainy River Recreation Board.
Also free for the kids and their parents will be public skating at 1:30 p.m. in the Rainy River arena. A skating and hockey skills competition with prizes will also be held some time after 1:30 in the arena.
Free hayrides will begin outside the Rec. Centre and cookie decorating and other Christmas activities upstairs at Rec. Centre will begin at 1:30 p.m.
At 3:30 p.m. the event every kid looks forward to will be held upstairs at the Rec. Centre. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be visiting with kids. Santa will also give every child a treat! This will continue until 5:30 p.m. There will also be singing of Christmas carols at the same time for those who want to participate.
At 5:45 p.m. Mayor Deb Ewald will light the town Christmas Tree next to Gillon’s insurance. That will be followed by the “Parade of Lights” which will see floats line up at the base of Main St. where the walleye tournament tent goes. Rec. Director Meghan Shanks says they have several entries already and are looking for more. “Anyone who has a snowmobile or a quad they want to decorate and enter in the parade is welcome! There will be cash prizes for the best entries in the parade!” Anyone wanting to enter the parade can call Shanks weekdays at 852-4446. The parade will go up Main St. at 6 p.m.
A colouring contest at Riverview School this week will see the winners get to ride on the sleigh with the Claus during the parade.
At 7 p.m. the Rainy River Community Choir will be holding their first of two Christmas Concerts. The first one is in Rainy River at the Covenant Church. The next one will be in Bergland (See article and ad in this paper for more details).
Shanks said the entire day is made possible through the generous donations by the Rainy River Playschool Inc., The Rainy River Legion, Northern Lights Credit Union and the Rainy River Rec. Bd. Shanks said that while the sponsors have covered most of the costs and everything is free to the public, they still need a little help. “A good will donation box will be on site for anyone wanting to help out.”
The Rec. Board is also seeking donated Christmas decorations for around the centre.