Crozet, VA Santa Claus visited Old Trail Village last Saturday, stopping for pictures with area families at the Old Trail Golf Pavilion during an event benefitting the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank and the Pediatrics Units of UVa Hospital. Over 100 families came to get free pictures with Santa and free hot chocolate and cookies from Trailside Coffee. In addition to the charitable giving opportunities, attendees were able to make holiday cards for the patients at UVa hospital – an activity that proved popular with attendees of all ages.

Marcia McGee, owner of Trailside Coffee and event organizer, said of the event, “We just wanted to create a fun community event, as well as provide a way to contribute to the community. Times are tough for a lot of area families right now; we wanted to provide options for making donations so families could choose what was right for their budgets.”

The event, sponsored by Old Trail Golf and Trailside Coffee, collected 275 pounds of food for the Food Bank and $111 in cash donations. Additionally, the event gathered a truckload of toys to fill the play cabinets in the playrooms of 7 West and 7 Central of the UVa Hospital. Rick Spigone, Managing Broker, Real Estate III-Old Trail, took the toys to the hospital for delivery Tuesday along with over 50 holiday cards handmade by event attendees for young hospital patients.

According to Rick Spigone and the other event partners, “We had made the decision within about 20 minutes of it starting that this is going to be an annual event. It was fun and special for all of us – we can’t wait to do it again next year!”

Trailside Coffee is open in the Old Trail Golf Pro Shop 7 days a week, from 8 am until 12 Noon until it moves to its permanent location in the Old Trail Village Center this spring.