There will be treasures to be found during Friday night’s Tree Lighting activities at the Village Hospital’s Christmas at Greer City Park weekend.
Friday night’s tree lighting festivities will give visitors an opportunity to find clues in the bulbs on posts donning holiday lights. “There will be plenty of clues to notice the bulbs. It will appear out of place and hints will be provided where they are,” City Administrator Ed Driggers said.
The idea, Driggers told City Council at last Tuesday’s meeting, is to direct people where the oddity is with the winner earning a gift card for dinner in downtown. Skipper Burns, Director of Public Services, came up with the idea, Driggers said.
The kids have guaranteed Santa a very busy Saturday. All three Breakfast with Santa sessions were sold out almost two weeks ago. A musical performance and tree lighting are Friday and the Greer Christmas parade will be held Sunday.
“The Breakfast with Santa is so well received with by the community it tells us it’s a successful program,” Ann Cunningham, Parks and Recreation Department Supervisor, said.
Last year Santa arrived at City Park via helicopter. Cunningham said Santa will find his way by other means this year, which she said would be a surprise.
Cunningham has added a cultural event from 6-7 p.m. for the children during Friday’s activities. “Holiday Seasons Around the World” gives guests an opportunity to learn how other cultures and countries celebrate the holiday season. The first 500 visitors to visit each station representing France, Haiti, Colombia and Germany, plus learning about Kwanzaa and Chanukah, receive a treat.
Cunningham said the visitors would receive passports to get stamped when the countries are visited. “We want to expose children and parents to different cultures of the holidays and show them this is how we celebrate,” Cunningham said. “We are a community with a diverse background and recognize the different cultures with this program.”
Free games, crafts, activities and free inflatables will be at City Park. A wall will also be available for the children to paint their Christmas scenes and messages.
Hot chocolate and other confections will be offered by vendors.