The annual Ho Ho Hoquiam event is coming Saturday with a list of events that run from early in the morning well into the evening.

“Even if you don’t want to be in the Christmas spirit, you will be after Saturday,” said Hoquiam City Councilwoman Logan Livingston. “It’s a lot of fun.”

Things kick off with the Ho Ho Hoquiam Fun Run. Registration starts at 9 a.m. at the starting line at City Hall at 609 8th St. and the run starts at 10 a.m. Runners can choose from a two-mile walk, two-mile run or 5K and 10K runs. There is a $10 registration fee, $15 if you want to get a commemorative t-shirt.

Santa makes his first appearance of the day at 11 a.m., arriving on a fire truck before making his way into the Central Elementary School gym. The Hoquiam High School marching band will perform Christmas songs, and there will be a 45-minute comedy magic act. Pictures with Santa are free to anyone who brings their own camera. Each child who attends under the age of 12 will have an opportunity to win a bike or toy through a drawing after the magic show. All children will be given a small toy and a bag of candy as they leave. The event is free. Central Elementary is located at 305 Simpson Ave.

Santa will arrive at the 7th Street Theatre at 4 p.m. Revelers can grab a free hot chocolate and take part in the Cocoa Stroll and Festival of Trees that continues until 7 p.m. The Hoquiam Business Association puts on this event to encourage shoppers to use local businesses for their holiday shopping. Business owners put a Christmas tree on display, and shoppers can vote on their favorites in a number of categories, including most Christmas spirit, theme most relevant to business, most beautiful, funniest, most creative, and best hometown Hoquiam theme. The first 100 shoppers who submit their ballots at the 7th Street Theatre will get a free commemorative ornament.

New to Ho Ho Hoquiam this year is the Singing Christmas Tree. Hoquiam has been trying to get this going for several years and this year organizers were able to get the tree from the City of Olympia, which no longer uses it in their Christmas festival. Hoquiam Business Association President Kyle Pauley said the tree stands about 25 feet tall and has pew-like seats inside, where local singers can safely sit and sing carols. Pauley said the tree will stand in the Timberland Bank parking lot directly across the street from the 7th Street Theatre.

The evening culminates with a screening of A Christmas Story in the theater at 7:30 p.m.

DAILY WORLD FILE PHOTO Santa climbs from a Hoquiam fire truck to greet the hundreds of locals who gathered at Central Elementary School in Hoquiam as part of a previous year’s Ho Ho Hoquiam celebration. He will show up Saturday at 11 a.m. for pictures and every child who attends gets a toy and bag of candy.