Local firefighters ask for donations for Operation Santa Claus

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• Photos: Santa holds court at Mission Plaza

  Photos: Santa holds court at Mission Plaza

  Santa Claus and petitioner Kaylie Hall, 8, of San Luis Obispo share some merriment Friday at his Mission Plaza requests bureau over her heart-shaped Christmas wish list, the first item on which is a robot hamster. The San Luis Obispo County Band — at 137, the oldest performing arts organization in the county — provided entertainment at the plaza to help get the holiday season off to a festive start.

  Tribune photos by Jayson Mellom

• A purposeful holiday shopping spree

  A purposeful holiday shopping spree

  President John F. Kennedy inspired a generation with his 1961 inaugural quote, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Six years ago, Los Osans Richard Margetson and Jerri Walsh asked who besides county government was funding the Maxine Lewis Memorial Shelter in San Luis Obispo.

  “Twenty years ago, the shelter was intended to be temporary. It is still seven trailers welded together. A friends group was helping the Prado Day Center, but not the homeless shelter,” Margetson said.

  “We talked to a few friends and came up with Saturday’s holiday fundraising concept. Everything is donated. The community is so generous,” he added. “Most of the 30 original volunteers are now leading hundreds of volunteers and sponsors.

• County/Cal Fire to hold open house Saturday in Avila Beach

  County/Cal Fire to hold open house Saturday in Avila Beach

  County/Cal Fire is scheduled to host an open house Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

  Firefighters will host a free barbecue lunch, and educational activities are planned throughout the Avila Valley Fire Station, including an interactive fire-safety house.

  Company 62 is sponsoring a food drive. All canned food and monetary donations will be made to the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County, according to a news release.

• South County Beat: Volunteers give kids a Head Start

  South County Beat: Volunteers give kids a Head Start

  Young children were getting their faces painted and receiving balloon animals. Santa Claus was taking requests from children seated on his lap. A very merry party for South County children enrolled in the Five Cities Head Start program was under way Dec. 3 at the Women’s Club in Arroyo Grande.

  Stan Garland, 81, of Arroyo Grande and president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 639 Retirees Club, was himself very merry as he watched the children, parents and staff from the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County and other union members interact at the event, which included a nutritious breakfast and ended with ice cream donated by Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Lab.

  “We get enjoyment looking at the kids’ happy faces,” Stan said. He said that about 30 years ago, he and other members decided “we should contribute something to the community.” They wanted to “donate our time and raise money.” Many of the local children’s parents were working in the fields.

• A simpler list for Santa this year

  A simpler list for Santa this year

  Santa Claus fielded requests from local children for everything from a toy lightsaber to “Star Wars” Legos on a chilly Thursday evening at Santa’s House in Mission Plaza in downtown San Luis Obispo.

  According to Sarah Ragan, promotions coordinator for the San Luis Obispo Downtown Association, gift requests have gotten simpler this year. Bicycles, skateboards and soccer balls are among the items that local kids are asking for this Christmas.

  “In the past, a lot of kids have brought in catalogs and pointed things out,” Ragan said, adding that children are more likely to show Santa an illustrated, handwritten list this year.