Holiday Happenings and Blessings

Town continues a season of celebration and goodwill with the 12th Annual Christmas Tree Festival at the MEG Building in Cliftondale; Santa visits Breakheart Sunday

  This weekend features two major holiday events in Saugus which have drawn good crowds in recent years. Tonight (Friday, Dec. 9) marks the second weekend of The MEG Foundation’s 12th Annual Christmas Tree Festival, which gets underway at 3 p.m. at the MEG Building (54-58 Essex St.) and lasts through 8 p.m. Tomorrow it will span from 3 to 8 p.m. Santa will arrive for photos from 4:30 to 6 p.m. There will also be a petting zoo on the front lawn from 5 to 7 p.m.

  Children who don’t get to see Santa Claus tomorrow can go to Breakheart Reservation on Sunday (Dec. 11) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Christopher P. Dunne Visitor Center (177 Forest St., Saugus). Grownups are invited with their children to drop by Breakheart to meet Santa and take a photo with him. Families can also enjoy a few minutes by the roaring fire, enjoying the season and the majesty of Breakheart. Santa will give the children some candy canes, and light refreshments will be served. The Friends of Breakheart Reservation and the state Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) is sponsoring the event.

  Here are some of the upcoming holiday events planned this month in Saugus:

  New Hope Assembly Church welcomes all to its Living Nativity this weekend – Dec. 10 (Saturday) and 11 (Sunday) from 2 to 6 p.m. Visitors to the event will get to experience live animals, complimentary refreshments and festive music. All are welcome and everything is free! New Hope desires those who come to be able to take a break from the busyness of the holiday season to come breathe and share in the joy of Christmas. Church leaders invite Saugus residents to visit the Living Nativity at 9 Assembly Dr. in Saugus.

  The Saugus High School Band and Chorus will be performing their winter concert next week at the Saugus Middle/High School Complex Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium. The High School Band and Chorus will perform on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. The Saugus Band Parents Association will have holiday raffle baskets and will be accepting canned goods in exchange for raffle tickets. The canned goods will benefit the Saugus United Parish Food Pantry at the Cliftondale Congregational Church.

  Dec. 13 will also feature the formal dedication of the Lemoine-Mitchell Auditorium at the Saugus Middle/High School Complex, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The auditorium is being named after two renowned performing arts educators who taught at Saugus High School for many years.

  On Dec. 17 at noon, the Parson Roby Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (MA0136P) will observe its second Wreaths Across America event, helping both Riverside Cemetery and the Old Burying Ground Cemetery to remember and honor veterans by laying remembrance wreaths on the graves of our country’s fallen heroes.

  There will be the lighting of the Menorah in front of Saugus Town Hall on Monday, Dec. 19 at Noon. Rabbi Yossi will be leading the service. This will mark the beginning of Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish Celebration.

  The Annual Saugus Christmas Eve Parade organized by the Saugus Police and Fire Departments kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 24.

  Editor’s Note: Does your organization, church or business have plans for a holiday or holy event that they would like to publicize this month? Feel free to email an announcement or press release to mvoge@comcast.net, headlined “Holiday Happenings and Blessings.”