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By Kris Harrell 

With Christmas on the way, the Greenville Parks and Recreation department brought activities and photo opportunities to the families of Greenville with their Breakfast with Santa event.

The Saturday event was sponsored by the Parks and Recreation, Hardee’s and the Greenville Area Chamber of Commerce. Tracy Salter, the executive director of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber was excited to work with the Greenville Parks and Recreation on this event.

“Greenville Parks and Recreation event coordinator Candace [Gregory] always does a great job putting together events that benefit the community’s youth, and this is one of those awesome events,” Salter said. “We look forward to seeing children enjoy a visit with Santa, refreshments and crafts.”

Children in attendance had the opportunity to take photos with Santa Claus and the Grinch, who also made an appearance at the event. 

In exchange for attending the free event, Greenville Parks and Recreation asked for one unwrapped toy from children interested in taking a photo. By the end of the event, around 25 gifted toys had been collected.

“We give those gifts that we collect to a local lady who sponsors five families every year,” Gregory said. “We do have some less fortunate people here in Greenville that do need the extra help, and we’re just happy to be a part – to be able to bless a kid or bless a family with something to give their kids for Christmas.”  

Also at the event were free biscuits donated by Hardees, providing children with breakfast while meeting Santa. There were crafts for the children, and each was able to make their own Christmas ornament. 

Additionally, some children matched their basketball skills with the Grinch. For the adults, EPIPHANY (Equity in Prevention and Progression of Hypertension) with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) provided free blood pressure screenings and health information. 

“It was very nice once we did get it all together,” Gregory said. “Hopefully next year it can be a little bit bigger, because we do plan to have more crafts next year, just more things for the kids to do.”