A Sunrise Santa Visit
Ho Ho Ho!
For over 80 participants and more than 40 local children, the magic of Christmas happened at the Junior Farmers Building on Saturday morning, 09 December 2023.As organized. by Bettyann Carty and her merry band of Sunrise helpers, Santa arrived, joined up with Mrs. Claus, and treated all to a hearty measure of Christmas spirit and joy. Along the way, and with the corporate support of McDonald's and the Apple Place, everyone enjoyed a great breakfast as well! Even President John (having been particularly nice this past year), took his place in line to express his RCNS wish-list to ol' St Nic - we wonder what Santa will deliver??
So much fun for the children, both young and less-young ... particularly so for the young family (mom Amber Bradshaw with children Hazel & Beckett) who won the Gingerbread House door prize!
Go to the 'Read more ...' tab to see a small selection of photos.
Well done to Bettyann and her team - thanks for another great event - Merry Christmas to all.
- Jim Simpson
RCNS Memory that GlittersAs the glittering season approached, the Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise (RCNS) organized and sold tickets for its inaugural, festive-season, fundraiser entitled “All that Glitters”. Over a period of several weeks, members of the public dropped into the Lynnwood Arts Centre (LAC) to view 10 trees and 13 wreaths, each of which had been contributed and/or decorated by local community-minded, businesses and individuals.
On 07 December, everyone assembled at the LAC to participate in the draw for the trees and wreathes. In a moment that only Santa himself could dream of, the most interesting of the trees was won by the most excited little girl.
The RCNS would like to thank the members of our club who put their creativity and energy into this new event as well as the many businesses and individuals who participated by taking time and resources out of their busy schedules to contribute and/or decorate a tree or wreath. Merry Christmas; we wish you all a wonderful, glittering holiday season.
The Sunrise Story of the Little Girl and her 'Candy Tree’406843538_778360284320002_3822150230358651856_n.jpg
Many of those who contributed to our festive season initiative spread their tickets out among the 10 trees and 13 wreaths, while others dropped all their tickets for that one special tree or wreath. One little girl who arrived at the Simcoe Lynnwood Arts Center with her Mom and two brothers took her tickets and was left to decide where she wanted to put them. Unlike her brother, who spread their wealth around, it didn’t take the little girl long to decide her choice once she viewed the tree appropriately entitled 'Candy Land' (as decorated by Lori Stetler from Something Unique). The little girl put all her tickets and hope into that one ‘Candy Land’ box. On the evening of the drawing, at the Lynnwood Arts Center, the draws were made for each of the trees and wreaths. Whilst it was not required, it happened that this little girl and the entire Saliba family were in attendance, just to be a part of our community festive event. The most magical moment of the evening was when the ticket number was drawn for the 'Candy Land' tree and her Mom waved her ticket telling her daughter “you won, you won!” The girl was excited beyond description and so many others in attendance that night felt that young girl's magic of Christmas at that moment.
Of course, there were many winners that night, some in attendance at the draw and others who would be notified by telephone. Another lucky family won 2 Christmas trees and yet another who won a tree was excited to gift the tree she had won to her grandson who was going to be moving into his own place. So many stories to tell ... what a great evening to lead us towards Christmas.