Countywide : Festival to Feature Music, Santa, Gifts

A two-day Christmas celebration at Centennial Park in Santa Ana this weekend will feature live music, Santa Claus, clowns and the presentation of 2,500 gifts to children from area neighborhoods through the Toyz ‘N’ the Hood program.

The program is organized by the Victory Outreach ministry and part of the fifth annual “Christmas Under the Big Top.”

The event is a way to celebrate the Yuletide spirit and reach out to the “hurting citizens within the inner city of Santa Ana,” event organizer Gregory Yalch said.

Festivities begin Friday at 7:30 p.m., when Santa and Mrs. Claus will welcome revelers to the Victory Tent at the park at 3000 W. Edinger Ave. Holiday and rap music will be performed; “American Me” cast member Danny De La Paz is scheduled to appear, and a classic car show will feature the prized possessions of the New Treasurers Car Club.

The evening will conclude with the Toyz ‘N’ the Hood program, Yalch said. Gifts collected by the ministry, community volunteers and other groups will be distributed to neighborhood children.

On Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m., the Christmas Day bill will include Fred Cancio Jr. singing the story of the infant Jesus Christ. The 50-member Sounds of Victory Choir will also perform.

All choir members are residents of the church’s three Victory Homes, rehabilitative centers that take in boarders for nine months to a year. Yalch, a former heroin and cocaine addict who found help from the ministry, said the program helps gang members, drug users and others find safe haven during recovery.

“It’s not just a one-night stay where they give you a meal and wish you luck,” Yalch said. “After 10 years or whatever as an addict, it takes more than that to get somebody to straighten out.”

The Victory Outreach Ministry International has halfway homes in countries worldwide, and Yalch said about 90% of successful graduates of the rehabilitation program go on to join the ministry. The Santa Ana congregation has about 350 members.

For information about the ministry or Christmas Under the Big Top, call (714) 554-2171.