Children of all ages rushed to the main stage to sing and dance with Mary Jo. while Santa Claus remained unseen.

The basement of the Église Saint Malo Church overflows with families from the St. Malo community. Every year, the St. Malo and District Chamber of Commerce hosts a Breakfast with Santa. Families come together to eat breakfast and meet new members of the community.

“It’s a good community event. They have entertainment and people singing in both French and English,” says Danielle Goulet, 26. “We are a big bilingual community and it’s great to get the little ones involved in speaking both French and English.”

Santa Claus in St. Malo

Entertainer, Mary Jo, brings props for the children to play with as she sings songs, switching between French and English. Mary Jo pumps up the children for Santa Claus, she fills the floor with children, while Santa makes his way in.

“You know it’s a great turn out, you just see a lot of people come together,” says Danielle Goulet. “We are all here for the same thing, the children.”

Surrounding the main stage are other attractions for families: face painting, arts and crafts, silent auction as well as coffee and pancakes. But events like these don’t just happen without a community coming together.

“The [St. Malo & District Chamber of] Commerce goes out to the community and asks members to donate through the community and Steinbach,” says Agnes Gosselin, President of the St. Malo and District Chamber of Commerce. “Also, we get donations from Steinbach, St. Pierre, and St. Malo. So it’s a pooled gathering.”

The St. Malo & District Chamber of Commerce wants to do more than to bring the community together. They want to bring in business for local stores.

“It brings people to town, whereas they might have gone somewhere else today,” says Carmen Coulombe-Tétrault, Vice- President of the St. Malo and District Chamber of Commerce. “But they are in town, so they will probably go to the store and spend some time in town. We buy locally so it helps the community and brings the community together.”

St. Malo’s Christmas spirit won’t end here. On Saturday evening there will be a Christmas Concert showcasing local talent.