The children of Castaic once again are able to experience the magic of the season this December with Santa and his sleigh coming to visit their neighborhoods, thanks to the help of a local charity.

For 35 years, the Castaic Lions Club has helped Santa Claus make visits to Castaic neighborhoods during a nine-night event on a brightly colored float, giving children of all ages an opportunity to tell him what they want for the holidays, receive a candy cane and take a picture with the man himself.

“What we do is we bring our Santa Float out to different neighborhoods each night. Each night consists of about eight to 10 stops. We give kids an opportunity to go and see Santa and tell him what they want for Christmas. We also do a food drive, and it goes to different Castaic families that are in need,” said Louie Diaz, chairman for the Santa Float.

Each night is sponsored by a different local organization, with Monday’s float travelling the streets of Castaic with the help of volunteers from KHTS Radio, which provided music throughout the evening.

Santa’s arrival is first heralded by a music truck blasting Christmas classics, letting families know that it’s time to come out and see Santa, before St. Nick himself arrives, accompanied by an escort from local Sheriff’s deputies.

Then, children are able to line up to see Santa, where the elves can check to see if Santa is ready – and make sure that he knows their names – before going to make their present requests.

Andrew Menjivar/KHTS Radio

“A lot of the parents that we see nowadays, were once kids that were on the float, and now they’re bringing their kids to it,” Diaz said. “So it’s really cool to come out and see all the lives this float has affected and how much joy it brings to Castaic.”

A first-time Santa, president of local non-profit Santa Clarita Grocery Bradley Grose listened attentively to the wishes of children throughout the night, from infants only a few months old to near-adults guiding their younger siblings.

“What an unexpected joy, visiting the children from Castaic this year. All such wonderful children,” Grose said. “None of them were on my list for getting coal, and the majority were added to my list as Santa’s Helpers in the years to come.”

Many of the children asked for popular toys, such as LOL dolls, or a Playstation 5, while others asked for world peace or a puppy. A few embraced the spirit of the holiday season and gave Santa gifts as well, including a bag of popcorn and a Coors Light.

Gifts given to Santa during the Castaic Santa Float

“My message this year was ‘I want to share something with you, how important it is for you to never let fun leave your heart. That when fun leaves you, the joy of living becomes hard. But if you can make fun in your hardest moments, when you grow up and life gets hard, that’s the 3-letter word F-U-N.’ They all responded with the same answer – ‘Santa – thank you – I promise to never let fun out of my heart’”

Although the COVID-19 pandemic put a pause on the event for the 2020 holiday season, the event is now back in full swing, spreading Christmas cheer and collecting food donations for the needy through Dec. 12.

“Deck the Halls, Joy to the World, Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Christmastime is now here! Merry Christmas Santa Clarita,” Grose said.

To see route maps and nightly schedules for the Castaic Santa Float, click here.

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