Milton Main Street set to welcome Santa Nov. 30

Christmas season in Milton will kick off in earnest at 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 30, as Milton Main Street’s Santa house will open to the public.

Santa will be available to meet children and grant holiday wishes until 2 p.m., and the next two Saturdays, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. On Dec. 7, the Santa House, located at the corner of Union and Magnolia streets, will be opened at 10 a.m. to coincide with that day’s Holly Festival.

Gloria Garcia, chair of Milton Main Street, said besides just getting a picture with Santa, there is also the Holiday Penguin Hunt, in which visitors will be able to win prizes and be entered for the grand prize – four complimentary tickets to the Milton Theatre’s production of “Annie” – by taking a picture with the stuffed penguin at 22 Milton businesses. Participants are encouraged to take a selfie with the penguin and post it to Facebook, tagging both the business and the Positively Milton page. Among the businesses taking part are King’s Ice Cream, Ogre’s Grove, Sweet Chalet, Irish Eyes, Dough Bar and Milton Theatre.

The Santa house is the first big event for the newly constituted Milton Main Street, which was formed as an outgrowth of the town’s economic development committee. Garcia said Main Street was launched in January 2024 as an affiliate program of national Main Street.

Garcia said the goal of the nonprofit organization is to help bring vitality, foot traffic and promotion of downtown Milton. To facilitate that, she said Main Street has partnered with other community organizations such as the Milton Chamber of Commerce, Milton Historical Society and Milton Arts Guild to collaborate on shared goals.

“We’re excited for this,” Garcia said of the Santa house and Penguin Hunt. “It’s going to be fun.”

She said Main Street is still looking for volunteers from local schools to help serve as elves for the Santa house, and that much of Main Street’s work after the holidays will be focused on strengthening the board of directors.

Garcia said the next event on the calendar will be a new art exhibit at Mill Park on Mulberry Street, which has been the site of four previous public art displays. While details are still being worked out, Garcia said the art display will likely happen in the spring.

For information on volunteering as elves for the Santa house, go to https://forms.gle/4ZtRQ34Phcp83xR37.