Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins celebrate Christmas in July
· Yahoo Sports
Jul. 19—WILKES-BARRE — Baby, it was warm outside on Sunday, but the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were getting into the holiday spirit with a Christmas in July community event on the Toyota Sportsplex Dek Hockey Rink.
The event featuring vendors, skating, and other family-friendly activities, was held in benefit of the Penguins Goals Foundation, which supports and creates programs to make youth sports more accessible.
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Admission was free, while proceeds from raffles went toward the organization.
Attendees enjoyed an extended open skate, holiday crafts, cookie decorating, and Christmas music. Pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus in their finest summer attire were also available.
"I love Christmas, so it's a way to get into the holiday spirit and utilize the deck," said Amanda Cromer, community relations and client services manager.
This was the first year of the Christmas in July event, and Cromer was optimistic it would become an annual tradition.
"It was a great turnout. We had a lot of support from people wanting to participate," she said.
Keira Feeney and her son, Jacob, 8, both of Moscow, traveled about half an hour to skate and check out the event.
"We come down here twice a week for Dek hockey," she explained.
The event gave them a family-friendly way to spend the afternoon, and both Feeney and Jacob got into the holiday spirit by wearing Christmas-themed T-shirts.
When it came to actually getting ready for the Christmas season, though, it might have been a bit too early for Jacob.
"I'm ready for the summer to keep going," he said.
For Feeney, although she was not quite ready to start thinking about Christmas, being surrounded by so many vendors forced her to consider ideas for presents.
"I like a lot of the handmade things," she said. "My mom especially, she loves handmade, meaningful things, and fairs like this kinda do that for me."