METHUEN — Santa Claus is planning a trip to Methuen.
People involved with the Methuen Santa Parade are having a cookout to raise money for this year's parade. The cookout will be Saturday at Riverside Park on Riverside Drive.
Tickets are $5 each, and that gets you a hamburger or hot dog, soda and chips. The cookout will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and the Methuen High School band will usher in Santa at 12:15 p.m., said Jill Stackelin, one of the people involved with the event.
"Santa is coming early to take early orders," Stackelin said.
The Santa Parade will be Nov. 21, and it's the city's kickoff to the holiday season.
Mayor William Manzi has announced that the grand marshals of the parade will be 2009 Methuen High School graduates Scott Yim and Madison Aleksa, who organized the 24-hour Relay For Life, which raised $182,000 for the American Cancer Society in May.
"We thought it would be very nice to have them because of the success that they've had," Manzi said.
Other activities at the cookout will include a horseshoe tournament, pony rides, raffles, booths from local businesses and demonstrations from parade participants. Students from local schools will be there making ornaments for the grand marshal float and Clean River Project will give boat rides. There will also be demonstrations by the Giordano Family Methuen Karate Association and Studio of Dance Arts, Stackelin said.
Rain date is Sunday. For information, call Jill Stackelin at 978-683-2419 or Dennis Marcello at 978-835-3320.
