Holly Days Kicks Off Farmington Holiday Season

From the Junior Optimists taking donations at the , to the arrival of Santa Claus at the , downtown Farmington celebrated the Christmas holiday season in style on Saturday.

The (DDA) Holly Days weekend continues today, from noon to 4 p.m. The event got underway at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the opening of the Greens and Gifts market and an ice carving demonstration given by a team from the Culinary Studies Institute.

At the Civic, movie-goers traded donations of nonperishable food items, new toys and cash – benefitting the Farmington Area Goodfellows holiday drive – for admission to The Polar Express or Shrek the Halls. 

Junior Optimist Halie Hayes, 10, enjoyed standing in the Civic lobby with club members Eliza Luttman, 6, and Roshen Patel, 9, both of , and Allison Ritchie, 12, who attends . This is Hayes' first year in the club at , and she stepped right into being president. She said she likes helping people. 

"I have a lot of things, and I know a lot of people are less fortunate than me," she said.

Just down the street, at , families flocked to Santa's Workshop for free crafts, refreshments, gift wrapping and stories told by Mrs. Santa. 

Across Grand River, Santa arrived a little before noon, as a long line of children queued up to sit on his lap and have their pictures taken, free of charge, by . He was also given a rousing welcome by the Farmington Rockets cheerleaders.

And no Holly Days event would be complete without a visit from Farmington resident Mike Hartman, who roared down Grand River past the park and pavilion around 11 a.m.

Today's activities include the Greens and Gifts Market and Santa's Workshop open from noon to 4 p.m.,  for the Farmington Area Goodfellows, 2 p.m. at the Civic, and an open house at the on Grand River from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. 

Did you take pictures or video during Holly Days? here, send them via email to joni.hubred-golden@patch.com or text to 248-534-2425.