As cold weather rolls into Georgia, so do the local holiday celebrations, and for Acworth, such celebrations include Santa Claus’s arrival. On December 5 at 6 p.m., Santa flew down to Acworth to welcome in the holiday season, alongside the city of Acworth and Northstar Church, with Summerwell Bells Ferry hosting the event. Normally, the event takes place outside between North and South Main Street and Carnes and Center Streets. However, due to poor weather conditions, the event was moved inside to the Acworth Community Center.
Hours before the event began, the city of Acworth posted on its website a location change due to projected poor weather. In past years, hundreds of families crowded the streets for the classic event, but sadly, this year, numerous individuals skipped the night due to the location change. In past years, the wintery feel appealed to families, with cold weather and holiday lights illuminating the streets. When hosted outdoors, the city sets out a space to roast marshmallows and take plenty of photos, including with Santa’s sleigh, the Peanuts cut out, gingerbread men and a plethora of other picture opportunities. Typically, holiday characters would roam the streets photo bombing pictures, local dance studios and choir groups would perform for bystanders and businesses would host stands to promote themselves through the streets.
“I skipped seeing Santa in downtown Acworth on Friday because it was too cold outside. I really wish I would have known earlier that the event had been moved inside, where it was warmer. If I had known, maybe I’d reconsider attending the event and have had an enjoyable experience,” junior Dominick Fiorentino said.
As cars pulled into the busy community center parking lot, it quickly filled and began to spill over to the neighboring areas. Families unloaded in the parking lot with children of all ages, hoping to beat the crowd in anticipation of taking a picture with Santa. Before entering the community center, groups encountered multiple food trucks selling a multitude of sweet and cozy confections, along with Acworth police cars working to keep the event safe. People walked into the center, feeling the holiday cheer radiating from the decorated trees, enthusiastic children running around and characters walking through the area. Although the bright overhead lights ruined the feeling of a winter wonderland, parts of the normal outside event still shone through.
As groups passed through the first set of main doors, they formed a line to take a picture with Santa. Jolly ole Santa sat on top of his throne as individuals walked up to take a picture in front of a shiny golden backdrop wrapped with red, green and candy cane balloons. Placed in the same room stood a tent where kids were allowed to write a letter to Santa and place it into a festive, decorated mailbox destined to arrive at Santa’s workshop. Northstar also set up a tent in the room with beautiful crafts for attendees to create and decorate their homes with. After seeing Santa, families may have opted to walk into the gymnasium where local dance studios performed for their families and over viewers. Similar to the typical outdoor event, a petting zoo filled with sheep and goats sat behind the stage, along with other settings for pictures. One of the popular components for the event remained picture opportunities with Elsa and Olaf from “Frozen.” The room stayed surprisingly empty compared to past years, possibly because the room location sat farther from the main event space.
“I’ve been attending the event since I was a child, so about 16 or 17 years. The atmosphere this year was mediocre; I think last year was very good because it was outdoors instead of indoors. If it were hosted indoors next year, I would still attend because of tradition, but I’d much rather it be outdoors despite the cool temperatures,” junior Jaxon Morales said.
The night provided a magical experience for younger children, while growing duller to the older individuals compared to past years. This year, the festive feeling lacked prevalence despite the key ticket items, including the pictures with Santa and holiday performances, still intact.
