The president’s office of Cerritos College hosted the second holiday Santa and Franco meet and greet for the Norwalk community in the school’s Falcon Square on Dec. 2.

The event started at 11 a.m. but folks had already arrived ahead of time, enjoying all the festivities the event had to offer.

As the holiday approaches and Christmas slowly creeps around the corner, the social event is perfect timing allowing the community to kick off their holiday spirits.

From face painting to connecting four, from hi-fives from Franco to Jenga to hitching a ride on the choo-choo train and after grabbing a bite to eat from various food trucks, the list of fun and activities was endless.

The more families had to enjoy the merrier the festivities were, bringing smiles to children’s faces as the meaning of Christmas itself echoes throughout the college campus.

“The purpose of this event is to bring the community onto campus to showcase what we have to offer especially to the little ones,” Cheryl Thury, administrative assistant in the president’s office said.

“We’ve been the staple of the community since 1955,” Thury said, “I grew up on this campus and I think it’s great for the community to see how this campus has transformed over the years.”

Community is important to Cerritos College, placed in the city of Norwalk, the college is open to all its surrounding residents.

Shin Liu, the board of trustees, says the college welcomes its community, pointing out there is no fence that keeps the public out from the school, they are one.

“We belong to the community, we are a part of the community,” Liu said, “we want to bring them into our beautiful environment. We are called community college for a reason.”

Families were able to take photos with not only the school’s mascot Franco the Falcon but could line up and get personal free photos with the North Pole’s boss of Christmas Santa Clause.

Cassandra Lozano, Norwalk resident, returns to Cerritos College with her whole family in tow, excited for the holiday season and grateful to be able to spend this time with her family.

“We looked forward to this event, it’s a way that my sister and I can get together. She’s busy and I’m busy too so here we find a way to get all our kids together and just have fun,” Lozano said.

The event held by the president’s office wouldn’t be complete without the school’s president in attendance.

With Christmas being his favorite time of the year Dr. Jose Fierro says hosting this event is giving back to the community that the school serves.

“Seeing people just happy and relaxed is very enjoyable to me and hopefully to everyone else, without the community we would not be here,” Fierro said, “this is not just a college in a community this is THEIR college in THEIR community.”

The children were the heart of the event, as they were seen running and playing, being little artists and creating chalk drawings all over the concrete of the campus, which could one day be their very own stomping grounds.

As the event wrapped up at 2 p.m., children were still drawing and flocking along the campus, and families left in a joyful mood as another successful Santa and Franco meet and greet was completed.