Santa lights up Havre

Santa Claus had a hard time getting to the annual lighting of the Christmas tree at Town Square Saturday night, but he made it through in fine fashion to treat Havre area youngsters.

"It was terrible," Santa told the crowd as he showed up at the gazebo at Town Square.

"I hit a thick cloud," he told the youngsters. "It was so bad I had to get out and push the sleigh."

The children laughed in delight.

Santa's arrival was the highlight of the annual ceremony welcoming the Christmas season.

Three gift certificate packages - worth $900, $600 and $300 were handed out to lucky participants. The certificates were donated by Havre merchants and are good at Havre stores.

A large crowd was on hand for the festivities – way more than last year when temperatures of 20 below zero prompted many people to pass on the tradition.

As in past years, the Salvation Army gave out cups of hot chocolate for people to enjoy.

As a warm-up to Santa's arrival, the Havre High School Hi-Liters performed Christmas music leading up to their rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" when Santa suddenly showed up at the scene.