Slidell Bayou Christmas /
Boys & Girls Club of Slidell
2021 marks the 8th Annual Slidell Bayou Christmas presented by the Slidell Boys and Girls Club and sponsored by the City of Slidell. This is a FREE event to the community offering free pictures with Santa (both hard copies and electronic), an “ice” skating rink complete with skates, kiddie rides, various local talent by school groups, dance groups and different faith-based choirs, a photo booth, a beautifully painted Nativity display and a light displays that dance to the music. We work with St. Tammany Fire District #1 to provide tours through the “smoke trailer” which gives our visitors the opportunity to be inside the trailer complete with live-simulated-smoke filled room escape lessons. We have 5,000 to 10,000 guests each year.
We are humbled when we find a family that is struggling during the holidays to capture that picture with Santa. Providing them their annual picture is so rewarding. Many families visit us year after year – it’s always great to watch the kids grow up. In 2020, we offered a drive-thru experience, but still were able to provide those sought-after Santa pictures with Santa in his sleigh and the wonderful children in front of the sleigh telling Santa their wish list. We offer many levels of sponsorship, with the top presenting sponsor signage throughout Heritage Park as well as our Facebook page. The Facebook page is where the visitors can download their Santa, Entrance and Photo Booth pictures. We get thousands of likes, downloads and comments on these photos every year. It is such a great and FREE event for the Slidell area.
How will the donation from Steel Mimosa’s help?
Sponsorship to Slidell Bayou Christmas supports the Boys & Girls Club of Slidell. The Boys & Girls Club of Slidell provides a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Every day 147,333 kids in Louisiana leave school with nowhere to go after school. They risk being unsupervised, unguided, and unsafe. Our Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles in a safe and fun environment.
A sizeable donation such as this one will help us provide programs for children and youth that boost outcomes in education, healthy living, physical activity, mental health, and more. We are the only Boys & Girls Club in Slidell serving over 150 children during the summer and after school programs.
Our members at a glance:
69% are 12 and younger
31% are Teens
86% are Minority Races
90% Qualify for Free Lunch
75% Live in Single Parent Homes
You can participate! • Volunteer: Contact Tommy Benasco, (985) 960-1241 • Donate: https://apps.bgcsela.org/portal/upcoming-events-secure?EV=485 Sponsorship Levels: Light display sponsor, $2,000; Barricade sponsor $100 Pay online: https://apps.bgcsela.org/portal/upcoming-events-secure?EV=485 Email to jcirilo@bgcsela.org for more information.
Learn more at BGCSELA.org/slidell-bayou-christmas. Businesses that wish to be a barricade sponsor, call Tommy Benasco at (985) 960-1241.
Follow the Bayou Christmas Facebook Page for more information.
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