BY MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Despite chilly temperatures on Saturday, scores of children and families gathered to await the arrival of Santa Claus at his local headquarters on the Common Saturday afternoon. Before long, the jolly elf arrived in a sleigh provided by Designer Christmas Trees on North Avenue.
After greeting the children and pausing for a photo outside his headquarters, Santa went inside where he welcomed dozens of children and families who had come to visit and share their Christmas wishes.
Children are welcome to visit between now and Dec. 23 and tell Santa what they would like for Christmas this year. Santa will be at his Headquarters on the Common Monday through Friday from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Santa’s arrival in Wakefield on Saturday marked the 65th annual Christmas Pageant sponsored by the Wakefield Lions Club, which also provides Santa’s local headquarters on the Common. Over the years, Santa has landed on the Common in a helicopter or been driven by a Fire Engine. In recent years, he has arrived aboard Designer Lawn Sprinkler’s special sleigh.
The Wakefield Lions Club was chartered on June 26, 1930, and is one of the oldest Lions Clubs in Massachusetts. The Lions are best known for fighting blindness, but they also volunteer for many different kinds of community projects – including caring for the environment, feeding the hungry and aiding seniors and the disabled.