Santa Claus stopped by for breakfast

santa
(MJ Pitt) - Ben Magaletta and Xander O’Dell both had a lot to share with Santa as the youngsters met up with the Jolly Old Guy for breakfast at The Park Restaurant last Saturday morning. Xander and Ben were two of several dozen local children who attended the special event, hosted by the Highlands Chamber of Commerce, with support from the staff at the restaurant. There’s no word on what they were sharing with Santa ... both kids and the big guy were mum about the conversations!

Chamber hosted fundraising event Saturday

Santa was in town last Saturday morning, at the request of the Highlands Chamber of Commerce.

Fifteen families joined him for breakfast at The Park Restaurant that morning, Chamber President Charlene Yehl said. She thanked The Park for partnering with the Chamber in the successful event.

It was successful, she said, not just because children got to spend time with Santa, but because, via the ticket sales for the event, the Chamber donated money to: The Center to assist children who are currently being home-schooled because of the COVID pandemic; to the FuFu Float effort, which drives Santa around town two evenings right before the holidays; and to the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center.

“Thanks to Kevin Pozo and the staff at The Park, this was a total success,” Yehl said. “Their desire to give back to the community made it easy to accomplish the goals that were set.”

She said the Chamber is also currently involved in a drive to collect food and supplies for the Hudson Valley SPCA, and that for the months ahead they are looking to help bring some art to the community by asking local artists to paint the windows of businesses.

The Chamber is always accepting new membership, and expects to meet in-person toward the end of January, Yehl said. For information on joining the Chamber, follow it on Facebook at Town of Highlands Chamber of Commerce, or visit the website, www.highlandschamberofcommerce.com