ARLINGTON — The Santa Run is a simple way to bring a little joy to neighborhood kids while collecting donations for the Arlington Community Food Bank.
That’s the reason volunteers with the Arlington Fire Department like participating in the annual event, said fire department spokeswoman Christine Badger.
Starting at 5 p.m. Saturday, Santa Claus begins his round of neighborhood visits in the 4100 block of 166th Street NE. The Santa Run continues each evening through Dec. 16.
Santa Claus and his decorated fire engine are accompanied by a team of helpers made up of fire department crews, city employees and members of civic groups.
When children hear Christmas music playing from the fire engine, they know to run out of their houses to visit with Santa, who hands out candy canes to everyone.
Food bank donations are not required to meet Santa, but last year volunteers collected more than $1,000 and more than 6,600 pounds of nonperishable food for the food bank, said firefighter and event organizer Ronda Davies.
“This is our chance to go out and meet directly with the community on their streets while also collecting much-needed donations for the food bank,” Davies said. “This is a win-win for everyone.”
Also called the 12 Nights of Christmas, the Santa Run is a tradition that’s more than 21 years old. It started as a way for Santa to greet Arlington children, then at some point people began giving firefighters food to deliver to low-income families in town, Davies said.
To find out when Santa is expected to visit your Arlington neighborhood, go to www.santarun.net or call 360-403-3600.
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
Join the parade
The annual Hometown Holiday celebration Santa Parade is set for noon Saturday along Olympic Avenue in downtown Arlington. Events continue all afternoon in the downtown area.
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