The Castaic Lions Club is putting the final touches on their annual Santa float which is scheduled to hit the streets of Castaic in December, after being canceled for the first time last year due to the pandemic.

For the last 35 years, Santa Claus has been making visits to Castaic neighborhoods during a nine-night event on a brightly colored float, which consists of two houses with all nine reindeer on the rooftops, followed by Santa sitting in his sleigh filled with toys, golf clubs, snow skis and much more.

Starting on Dec. 4 through Dec. 12, Santa is scheduled to make stops in neighborhoods throughout Castaic, 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.

The Castaic Lions Club and all the different organizations throughout Santa Clarita who make it possible to have the float go out each night are excited to have the float return to the neighborhoods of Castaic this year after the cancelation of the event last year.

Every night that Santa goes out, he is set to make between eight to 10 stops throughout the neighborhoods he visits.

Prior to Santa arriving at each stop, a music truck playing Christmas songs drives around the surrounding streets to let families know that Santa is set to arrive within the next few minutes.

To make the float run smoothly, it takes a minimum of 10 people to fulfill a variety of roles, including: Santa, a float driver, a music car driver, a safety director, elves to help children on and off the float and people to help children cross the street.

Besides helping kids on the float, the elves aim to make the float a bit more magical by interacting with the children while they are waiting to see Santa.

One way the elves work to make the float magical is by asking the children what their name is before seeing Santa.

Then the elves will tell the kids, “we are going to see if Santa is ready to see you.”

However, what the elves are actually doing is telling Santa their names so he can greet them by name.

When families come to see Santa, they are also encouraged to bring canned food to donate. The food that is gathered is then put together in care packages and distributed to Castaic families in need.

About 35 years ago, Jeff Preach, a current Castaic Lions Club member, lived in Manhattan Beach where a similar float sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce carried local organizations such as the police and fire department.

When Preach moved to Castaic, he wanted to bring that magical tradition to his new neighborhood.

During its early stages, Preach and his three boys worked on the Santa float using a dirt bike trailer with the current fiberglass sleigh Preach built with his neighbor who at the time worked with Disney.

Originally there were only seven plastic reindeer because Preach couldn’t afford to buy all of nine.

“When we first started doing the Santa float, when we got to our stops, my three boys would knock on people’s doors and then run back to the float and stand in line so people knew they could come out and see Santa,” Preach said.

Prior to its first year, Preach reached out to the Castaic Lions Club to see if they wanted to help out with the float.

Without missing a beat, the club donated $300 to purchase candy canes to give away to the children in the community.

After about seven years of using a dirt bike trailer and plastic reindeer, Preach was able to get the Castaic Lions Club to jump on board and help design and weld together the flat as it is seen today.

Throughout the 35 years of taking the float throughout Castaic, multiple businesses around the Santa Clarita Valley have donated to its efforts.

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