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Santa Claus pays a visit to Bethel Park

By Eleanor Bailey 4 min read
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Santa Claus listens to the Wish Lists of siblings Brayden and Harper Hopkins of Bethel Park during Light-Up Night.
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Julian Wells, 3, eyes the ornaments on the Christmas tree while awaiting a visit with Santa Claus during Bethel Park Light-up Night festivities.
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Lily Guthrie, 6, enthusiastically leaps for joy while participating in a sing-along with Santa during Bethel Park Light-Up night activities.
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Braxton O'Brien, 2, gets a boost from his grandmother, Christina Williams, as he places his letter to Santa in the mailbox placed in the Bethel Park Community Room during the municipality's annual Light-up event.
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Kylie Sgarlata, 8, pens a letter to Santa during Bethel Park's annual Light-up Night event. Her wish list included a dinosaur mask, a foxtail and ears, stickers and a replacement for her broken iPad. "Santa usually doesn't bring me everything I want but I am always happy with all I get," Kylie said.
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Jackson and Gabriel Szymanski pose for photos at the selfie station set up with festive accessories during Bethel Park Light-up Night.
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Bethel Park High School jazz ensemble members Gavin Clancy (right) and Avery Miller (left) perform holiday music during the municipalities annual Light-up Night celebration.
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Violet Smith enjoys a sugar cookie from Bethel Bakery.
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Emma, 7, and Grayson Boles, 4, enjoyed their first Light-up Night in Bethel Park with their parents John and Paul. The youngsters made reindeer food while sipping on hot chocolate and munching on sugar cookies.

Harper Hopkins has gone Christmas shopping with her mother long enough to know that there are many Mall Santas, but only one legitimate jolly old elf from the North Pole. Not only does he make an around-the-world trip on a single night in December, he also makes a special journey to Bethel Park once a year.

On Dec. 6, Santa Claus made a guest appearance at the community center to help the municipality usher in the holiday season and light its Christmas tree.

“He’s the real one,” Harper whispered into the ear of her brother, Brayden, after they both sat on St. Nick’s lap and told him what was on their wish list. While Harper hoped for an elf, Brayden only asked for surprises to be delivered by Christmas.

Mayor Jack Allen nodded. He knows that Santa, like surprises, doesn’t disappoint.

“Santa interacts well with the children,” he said. “He does a great job. He’s the reason this event is so successful.”

While past light-up festivities have attracted big crowds, this year’s program was a sellout.

The hot chocolate bar ran out of the sweet beverage. The students manning the station said, “We must have handed out 400 cups.”

The Bethel Park High School Jazz Ensemble and the Independence Middle School chorus performed an array of holiday hits. There was a selfie station, cookies provided by Bethel Bakery, a sing-along with Santa, an area to write and post letters to Santa as well as a place to assemble food for Rudolph and the other eight reindeer.

“That’s the only place we had anything left. We did not run out of reindeer food,” Allen said.

“Everything was spectacular. What amazes me most is that the chorus and the band get better and better each year and that the turnout keeps getting bigger and bigger.”

Emily Skoczlas and Lindsey Sibert were responsible for organizing the event, which was attended by many of the members of the Bethel Park council. Skoczlas is the interim recreation director and community center director. Sibert is the programs coordinator. They said they followed last year’s recipe because it “ran so well” and they expected the “full house” that attended.

“This is a nice event,” Skoczlas said. “It brings people together for the holiday season. It’s a great atmosphere and puts people in the Christmas spirit.”

Sibert witnessed that enthusiasm in her own children as well as those in attendance. She had three sons, Jensan, Logan and Barrett, in tow.

“I love seeing their sweet faces. They are so excited,” she said. “This is such a great event for the kids as well as families.”

The Smith and Williams clans gave the free event a thumbs-up.

While Patti Scademan hailed from Bethel Park, her grandchildren – twins, Vincent and Violet, both 3, and Hazel, 5 – traveled from Canonsburg to attend the holiday celebration with their parents, Amanda and Ken Smith.

“It’s a really cute event and exciting for the kids. They are thrilled to see Santa and they can’t wait for the Christmas tree to light up.”

Christina Williams agreed. “When the lights on the tree go on, they all get excited.”

Williams attended with her grandson, Braxton O’Brien, 2, and his father, Ray. She said she enjoyed the bands and the music and that her one wish for Christmas was for peace.

Students in the orchestra as well as some volunteers yearned for musical instruments.

Ellis Stearman worked as a greeter, passing out programs with Temperance Sethman.

Temperance said she wanted a guitar for Christmas. A violinist, Stearman said he loves to hear the music.

Gavin Clancy played the baritone saxophone alongside Avery Miller in the jazz ensemble. An 18-year-old senior, he said he wanted a new saxophone. But, he added that he just likes bringing joy to people. “This is pretty much fun. I enjoy it. Seeing all these happy people brings out the holiday spirit in all of us.”

Julian Wells, 3, was most delighted. He was enthralled with the Christmas tree as well as sitting on Santa’s lap. “I want a real car,” he said.

Santa reminded the crowd that’s a possibility because when Allen was twice the age of Wells, he wanted to be the mayor of Bethel Park.

Regardless, Julian had a pleasant evening with his mother.

“We’ve never been here before,” said Brittany Miskiv. “It’s so nice. Beautiful.”

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