Santa Claus finally came to Reading on Friday night.
Typically Santa makes his first appearance of the season during the Reading Holiday Parade but it was canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the assistance of the Reading fire and police departments, Santa was escorted throughout the city waving to people gathered along the route on a cold December evening.
Mayor Eddie Moran suspended issuing permits for large gatherings earlier this year in an effort to curb coronavirus infections, which is why the parade had to be canceled. He was happy he could still bring some joy to families Friday evening.
“We want this event to help the kids of Reading create memories of a beautiful Christmas season in 2020,” Moran said in a press release.
The event was in conjunction with a Reading Recreation Commission food and gift distribution at City Park, 3rd and Spruce Recreation Center and 11th and Pike Recreation Center.
There were 500 holiday bags given out to the community Friday evening.
The bags contained hygiene products from the Reading Hospital, candy from Godiva and the Pagoda Foundation, toys from Wood to Wonderful, hats from Bausman Memorial Church, books from the Reading Public Library and socks from the recreation commission. The food pantry boxes were courtesy of Helping Harvest.
“We’re beyond thankful for all of the support that we’ve received from our community partners to make our Holiday Gift Bag Giveaway a success,” said Daphne Klahr, the executive director of the Reading Recreation Commission, in a press release.
