Santa and all his magical elves ushered in the ninth anniversary of Palmerton’s Christmas in the Park held Saturday in the Palmerton Borough Park.

Mayor William Gallagher told those in attendance that Michele O’Neill, chairwoman of the Christmas in the Park Committee, approached the borough “10 years ago with an idea.”

“Look how wonderful her idea has become,” Gallagher said. “We went from 40 trees nine years ago to 154 today.”

O’Neill said she was “pleased with the great turn out.”

A total of 30 vendors, including the Palmerton Cat Project, lined the paths to the pavilion and sold out of soups, baked goods and French fries within two hours.

Santa arrived compliments of the Palmerton Fire Department, while horse-drawn wagon rides provided holiday cheer to young and old alike.

The daylong celebration kicked off with a prayer led by Joe Uhnak and a gun salute and taps by the UVO Color Guard to honor the service members killed 80 years ago at Pearl Harbor.

Lee Koprivsek, of Hellertown, served as a medic in the regular Army during Vietnam and was “honored to add (his) name to the veterans tree.”

“It’s amazing that there are still towns that do things like this at Christmas,” Koprivsek said.

“I am glad they took time to honor veterans. It’s important.”

Entertainment was provided in the form of the Children’s Chorus of S.S. Palmer Elementary, which sang a selection of holiday tunes.

Later on, magical elves from Off the Charts Music School shared musical selections.

The celebrations ended with a countdown to light the trees in the park, followed by a Christian Action Council of Palmerton Area Churches singalong in the pavilion where favorites such as “Jingle Bells,” “Rudolph” and “Silent Night” filled the air.