Santa and Mrs. Claus fill Community Arts Center of Cambria County with holiday 'magic'
Dec. 24—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Wyatt and Quinn Berkebile could barely stifle their giggles on Saturday while approaching Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Community Arts Center of Cambria County in Westmont Borough.
With a hearty, "Ho, ho, ho," Kris Kringle greeted the children, asked about their year, their school, their holiday plans and what they wanted for Christmas.
Their grandmother, Diane Mackert, stood back and smiled at the cheery scene, as did many other parents and family members who visited the center with kids to get one last visit in with Old St. Nick.
"I wanted to make sure they got to see him and let him know how excited they are for him," Mackert said.
Wyatt Berkebile, 9, eagerly said he and his sister would get to see Santa in just two days, noting that Saturday was Christmas Eve Eve.
Quinn Berkebile, 5, corrected her brother: No, they will not get to "see" Santa, but he will bring presents to their house soon. Wyatt mulled this over and agreed.
"I like that there are a lot of presents and we get to spend time with family," Wyatt said.
His sister added that she was looking forward to spending time with their pets — a dog and a recently adopted cat.
Dozens of children filtered into the arts center along Menoher Boulevard to sit with Santa and receive a candy cane from Mrs. Claus, while their parents snapped photos and did some last-minute shopping at the Holly Bazaar.
Holiday music greeted the families both in the parking lot and inside, along with twinkling lights and scents of winter lingering in the air.
Ashley Miller said she appreciated the arts center setting up such a nice event right before Christmas.
"It was really nice," Miller said.
Miller brought her daughters — Jazlyn Custis, 10; Tyonna Custis, 9; and Violet Custis, 7 — to visit Father Christmas.
They enjoyed candy canes and said that they were ecstatic about getting to tell Santa what they wanted under the tree. Violet sought a Bluey doll house, Tyonna requested a realistic baby doll and Jazlyn asked for a pottery set.
Seeing the joy on children's faces has led Gary Lichtenfels to don the red suit annually for the past 22 years. He started with family parties, and it expanded from there.
"The faces and the smiles and the laughter — it's fun to watch the kids come in," Lichtenfels said.
Lichtenfels added that the joy brought to families makes it all worth it.
"The magic is real," said Trish Schutte, who stood proudly beside Lichtenfels as Santa's spouse on Saturday and added that she loves seeing children so happy.
The pair have provided the festive treat to visitors to the arts center for years.
Kate Rafas, the arts center's design and development director, said they were even there through the COVID-19 pandemic to make sure local youngsters could get their visits in.
"Doing it so close to Christmas just gets everybody in the holiday spirit," Rafas said.
Other visitors to the bazaar also made a trip over to see Mr. and Mrs. Claus, including Jim and Mary Tranchine, of Murrysville, who brought their Yorkshire Terriers in for a photo.
The pair have shopped at the holiday market for more than two decades and were doing so again on Saturday when the idea for a puppy photo struck them.
"This was always so nice up here," Jim Tranchine said.
He and his wife appreciate the area's laid-back atmosphere compared to Pittsburgh, they said, as well as the quality of hand-crafted items available in the Holly Bazaar.
Mary Tranchine said she loves picking out unique items both as gifts and to decorate their home with. She enjoys bringing those decorations out year after year and thinking back on the memories of when they were purchased, she said.
