Malia Riggs
Elmore Autauga News
Santa Claus is coming to town! Singing loud for all to hear and spreading holiday cheer is the name of the game for Cloud9 Aviation at Prattville Airport. Sant and Mrs. Claus will be flying direct from the North Pole this year to make a special visit to the River Region in Prattville for some holiday fun.
The festivities will take place this Saturday, December 1 at Cloud9 Aviation located at 1450 Aviation Way in Prattville. It’s a $5 donation to the Family Support Center to get in, with drinks, snacks, games, prizes, ornament decorating and holiday fun provided. Festivities start at 12:30 p.m. with Santa and Mrs. Claus landing around 1:15 p.m. and a special guest flying in around 1:30 p.m.
Children are encouraged to bring their letters to Santa as Santa and Mrs. Claus have penciled in Prattville into their holiday schedules to kick off December. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be at Cloud9 Aviation until 3 p.m. The Sweet Hook-up will have their food truck there from 12:30-3:00 p.m., and questions can be directed to owners of Cloud9 Aviation, Paul and Elisabeth Gardner 334-324-5001.
The Gardner’s started this tradition four years ago, however the Gardners tend to host festivities around every holiday to benefit local charities and area organizations. This year, the proceeds from the Holiday Fly In will go to benefit the Family Support Center in Prattville, where their mission is to not only improve the quality of life for children but also their families through advocacy, education and employment locally.
“I always say this is my favorite event. I truly love them all, but I’m a Christmas baby. My birthday is in December. I put up 17 Christmas trees in my house, and I put up seven Christmas trees at the airport. I love Christmas. I watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade every year and tears just stream when Santa comes in. I mean, I’m jumping up and down like a kid every time Santa comes across the screen,” Santa’s local elf helper and owner of Cloud9 Aviation Elisabeth Gardner said.
Gardner stated that she is extremely excited to visit with Mr. and Mrs. Claus again, and that every year they are always so gracious and precious with the children.
“My parents always went all out to make the holidays special for us growing up and I would always go all out to make it special for my children. Now my kids are grown, and they have their own little family traditions, and we get together at Christmas. But I wanted to make something special for the area children. Being an elf and personally knowing Santa and Mrs. Claus, I asked them to come to the airport four years ago,” Gardner said.
The Claus couple will be flown in by fellow elf helper Pilot Paul Davis, Gardner confirmed. Santa’s reindeer have strict orders to stay rested as they prepare for their big night on Christmas Eve coming up in just a few short weeks.
