Aldergrove Elks hosted its 25th annual two-hour Christmas extravaganza for children and their families on Saturday.
For the holidays, the Elks partnered with Save-On-Foods and Aldergrove resident Al Quiring to give $1,000 worth in grocery vouchers to families in need.
Langley RCMP Cpl. Kurt Neuman makes house visits with the gift cards. On Saturday, Neuman greeted guests, handing them a purple Elks toque.
Santa was inside, posing for pictures.
His elves, also volunteers, led kids through fishing and tossing games for fun prizes.
After a visit with Santa, kids received goodie bags from Aldergrove Youth Soccer Club (AYSC) members, who volunteer every year at the community event.
Just after 4:30 p.m. four Disney princesses – Elsa, Anna, Belle, and Moana – surprised the hall packed full of kids with an interactive holiday sing-along, group snowball fight, follow-the-leader limbo game, and storytelling.
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There was one lucky child who took home a brand new acoustic guitar by the end of the night.
Guy Whitford, a musician and current Elks president, said the guitar was donated by Elk Ray Farness “to promote artistic and creative talents.”
Thirteen-year-old Sam Hodgins from Aldergrove jumped for joy when his spin landed on the winning guitar sticker.
Hodgins immediately showed off his skills on the instrument, to the initial surprise of Whitford.
“Luckily Sam already had an interest in music,” Whitford remarked.
The Hodgins family continued their streak of luck and won one of several Walmart $50 gift cards that were drawn during the night.
Volunteers from the local legion – where the event was held – made hot chocolate, hot dogs, and other refreshments, donated by Save-On-Foods, for children and parents to enjoy.
The party was a precursor to Aldergrove’s annual Light-Up parade.
Families left the event just before 6 p.m. to line the downtown streets in wait of the annual holiday procession.
