Homeless Children Take Role in Starting Christmas Festival
The Christmas season for many in south Orange County will start Friday, when scores of children decorate a lofty, living tree in a park overlooking the ocean at Dana Point.
The tree-trimming is in preparation for Saturday, when the tree will be lighted at 6 p.m. for hundreds of homeless county children. The children, who will be bused to Lantern Bay Park, will each receive presents from Santa Claus after he arrives by dogsled.
The events, part of the Dana Point Christmas Fantasy festival, begin at 10 a.m. Friday, when about 100 children from the Richard Henry Dana special school, along with Dana Hills High School art students, deck the 30-foot tree’s boughs with ornaments they made.
The tree, a type of redwood, was donated by Charles and Edward Smyth, developers of Lantern Bay. It is in traditional Christmas tree shape and was planted a few months ago.
On Saturday, local residents will join homeless children around the tree for gift-giving and Christmas carols sung by the Dana Hills High School choir. Organizers suggest that the children bring flashlights to help Santa Claus find his way.
The homeless children will also be taken on boat rides through the harbor and have refreshments at the nearby Dana Point Resort hotel.
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