Christmas in the Park will be held on Saturday, Nov. 25, at Washington Boro Park, 2010 River Road, Washington Boro. The annual community celebration will begin at 5:30 p.m., and it will include a variety of festive traditions and activities for children.

Food and drinks will be available to purchase from Happy Dog Kettle and Grill food truck, which will offer items such as hot dogs, burgers, cheesesteaks, soup, coffee and hot chocolate.

At 6:30 p.m., a children's choir will perform an arrangement of holiday tunes, and attendees will have an opportunity to sing Christmas carols together. Complimentary Christmas cookies will be offered throughout the evening. Before the activities wrap up, Santa and Mrs. Claus will make an appearance; the jolly couple will give out a variety of small, wrapped gifts to youngsters who have made the nice list. Music will be led by Chris and Belinda Collins, and Tyler Rohrer of Central Manor Church has assisted with decorations.

The first Christmas in the Park was held in 2018 through the combined efforts of local church pastors Dennis Regitz and Carlene Wolf. As the pastor of Washington Boro Church of God, Regitz had already organized several church events with Wolf, who leads the congregation of Washington Boro United Methodist Church. Regitz was inspired to create the event after he and his wife watched a Christmas movie together. One scene featured a community tree-lighting event, which Regitz wished to make a reality in Washington Boro. He immediately brought the idea to Wolf. "Our community loves to get together, and I thought it would be a neat idea if we had some help to pull it off," Regitz said.

Wolf agreed without hesitation to help Regitz realize his vision, which she saw as an opportunity to bring people together with their neighbors for the holidays. Although Washington Boro is home to annual community events such as the Tomato Festival in July and Heritage Day in October, no similar event had been held during the holiday season. In addition to providing Washington Boro with festive activities and fellowship, Wolf said she also saw Christmas in the Park as a way to connect with the community outside of her congregation. "Our church is very active, but it's mainly people who come to us for our events," Wolf added. "I thought (Christmas in the Park) was a great idea, and that hosting it at a public park would reach the broader community. Christmas in the Park instantly became more popular than Regitz and Wolf had anticipated. Nearly 300 people attended the first event in 2018, and it has since grown into a tradition that is beloved by members of the community.

Every year, Christmas in the Park includes the lighting of the same tree, which was donated by a local church and planted at the park for the first event. Although most of the activities remain unchanged, this is the first year the event will include the food truck and the children's choir. Regitz and Wolf hope to further expand the celebration by incorporating vendors in the future.

"It's the perfect way to begin the Christmas season," Wolf said. "Thanksgiving is over, so we light the tree and walk our way into Advent."