Laura Vanderburgh (left) and her daughter Aleks, 5, enjoy a display Dec. 1 at Santa’s Magic Playground, a fundraiser for the Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, at Kudos Taproom and Fieldhouse in Taylor.
The Grinch awaits visitors brave enough to approach him Dec. 1 at Santa’s Magic Playground, a fundraiser for the Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, at Kudos Taproom and Fieldhouse in Taylor.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR – Santa’s Magic Playground, an animatronic seasonal wonderland fundraiser for Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, has found a new home at Kudos Taproom & Fieldhouse, 14110 Pardee Road.
Howard Wilson, treasurer for Fish and Loaves, said the former location for the holiday display at Heritage Park in Taylor was turned into a reception hall to complement the nearby church, a popular site for weddings.
He said the city still owns, stores and transports the holiday displays, and allows Fish and Loaves to use them for the annual holiday fundraiser.
Wilson said many of the animatronic figures are from the old J.L. Hudson window displays.
“Some of the animatronics are over 70 years old,” he said. “Fish and Loaves has been around about 16 years now, and right after they started, they started putting this together for Heritage Park.”
When asked which of the live costumed characters, the Grinch or Santa, is scarier to small children, Wilson said that some children won’t approach either character.
He said Santa’s Magic Playground is a major fundraiser for the food pantry, and the group hopes it will bring in $40,000 to $50,000 to help it purchase food.
“This, and our golf outing and our raffle are probably our biggest fundraisers,” Wilson said.
Fish and Loaves, 25670 Northline Road, operates as a client-choice pantry, which allows people, based on the number in their household, to select a given number of pounds of food from the store-like setting, which is about the size of a corner convenience store.
He said Fish and Loaves gets some of its food from Gleaners, and other items from Forgotten Harvest. If Gleaners or Forgotten Harvest get the donations for free, Fish and Loaves is not charged for the distribution.
Wilson said Fish and Loaves helps people with food insecurity in Taylor and the seven communities it borders.
“However, anybody that shows up at our door and says, ‘Hi, I’m hungry,’ we will give them emergency food and then we will try to find for them, if they are not in our area, a pantry in their area,” he said.
Santa and Mrs. Claus await guests Dec. 1 at Santa’s Magic Playground, a fundraiser for the Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, at Kudos Taproom and Field House in Taylor.
Wilson said on Saturdays, Fish and Loaves has a Fresh Market driveup program that provides a box with milk and fresh produce to upward of 800 clients.
He said he see multi-generational families coming to support their mission by visiting Santa’s Magic Playground, including people who remember seeing the displays in the window of the Hudson’s department store.
Wilson said guests come through who remember visiting the Fish and Loaves display as a child, and now they are bringing their own children to experience the wonder.
“We’ll see four generations coming through, and it’s when the kids go through there, they get a big smile on their face, and it’s very colorful, with different characters and all sorts of scenes,” he said. “And then, at the very end, they see Santa, and can get a picture with Santa and a picture with the Grinch.”
Wilson said that by hosting the event, Kudos is familiarizing new people with their business as well, which will result in a synergism.
He said that almost everyone is smiling when they leave Santa’s Magic Playground.
“It’s good to see families come together at Christmastime,” he said. “It’s good to say ‘Merry Christmas.’”
Santa’s Magic Playground is open noon to 8 p.m. Dec. 14, 15, 21 and 22, and 4 to 9 p.m. Dec. 18 to 20 at Kudos.
For more information about Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, go to flcfp.org.
Kaiden Vanderburgh, 2, waves at the animatronic display Dec. 1 at Santa’s Magic Playground, a fundraiser for the Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, at Kudos Taproom and Fieldhouse in Taylor.
A Hudson Santa Bear collection, donated by Gary Errigo, is on display Dec. 1 at Santa’s Magic Playground, a fundraiser for the Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, at Kudos Taproom and Fieldhouse in Taylor.
The nutcracker collection of the late Joe Gallaher is on display Dec. 1 at Santa’s Magic Playground, a fundraiser for the Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, at Kudos Taproom and Fieldhouse in Taylor.
Aleks (left), Laura, Kaiden and Nelson Vanderburgh enjoy viewing a display Dec. 1 at Santa’s Magic Playground, a fundraiser for the Fish and Loaves Community Food Pantry, at Kudos Taproom and Field House in Taylor.