Rain does not keep Santa from visiting Cottam

by Sylene Argent

With the reindeer still in training for their busiest night of the year, firefighters with the Kingsville North Fire Station helped Santa arrive at the Cottam Tree Lighting event in style on Saturday night.

Despite the rain, many families attended the event at Cottam Rotary Park, which provided an opportunity for the young ones to tell the jolly man in red what they would like for Christmas this year, and perhaps do some explaining about any incident that may have shaken their status on the nice list.

  The Cottam Rotary Club hosts the tree lighting event every year as a way to give back to the community. Members of the club also prepared and provided holiday gift bags to all the youth who attended the event, who were also treated to some hot chocolate and sweet treats.

  The Cottam meet and greet with Santa is always a popular event, which included the official turning on of the holiday lights at the park. This year, there were several more illuminated sculptures placed at Cottam Rotary Park, thanks to the Town of Kingsville, which helped brighten the event.

  The Cottam Rotary Club hosts several events for community members to enjoy and fundraisers throughout the year to maintain the Cottam Rotary Park and forward financial support to many youth-orientated activities. One annual fundraiser this local service club hosts is the selling of Christmas trees from Cottam Rotary Park leading up to the holiday season.