When the Recreation Department launched its “Breakfast with Santa” event in 2007, about 50 participating kids—for the price of a new, unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots program (more on that below)—in a single session, had breakfast with Mr. Claus himself and scored a photo with the big man.
One of this year’s sponsors of the Rec Department’s “Breakfast with Santa” is Lorenzo Colella—pictured here as a New Canaan tot himself with his parents, Annunziata and Joe—the founder of Joe’s Pizza, now operated by Lorenzo on Locust Avenue. Contributed photo
The event, a partnership for years with the Young Women’s League of New Canaan and now run by Rec with the support of generous sponsors, has grown so popular that this time around, three full sessions with 60 kids in each “sold out” (in truth, the event is free but requires advanced registration) in about one hour, Recreation Director Steve Benko said.
“The kids, they just love it, and it’s great to have our sponsors on board,” Benko said of the event, which will run Saturday at Waveny House.
Here’s another shot that includes a young Lorenzo Colella in New Canaan (this looks like Main near the corner at Elm). Lorenzo is a sponsor of this year’s ‘Breakfast with Santa’ event at Waveny, a hugely popular Rec program that “sold out” three sessions in an hour this year. Pictured are: Filomena Colella, Lorenzo, Nancy Colella, Serra Colella and Annunziata Colella. Contributed photo
This year’s sponsors are Lorenzo Colella of Joe’s Pizza and Mike Shullman of Russell Speeders (and Choose To Be Happy), Benko said. Among other perks for local Santa-seeking children, their contribution funds the purchase of goodie bags for the kids, including croissants, munchkins, cinnamon rolls and water.
Asked what made him want to support Breakfast with Santa (Joe’s Pizza already is involved in several local causes, including the donation of pizza for two of New Balance New Canaan’s popular fundraising runs), Colella said that Rec Program Manager Steve Dayton mentioned the event “and I thought it was great for the kids.”
“I heard he needed sponsors and didn’t have any yet, so I decided to step up,” said Colella, a 1995 New Canaan High School graduate and town resident who was in one of Center School’s final kindergarten classes (with Mrs. Pinchbeck). “We’ve been in town a long time, and I care about all kids, but for New Canaan kids, I wanted to be part of something special for them.”
A recent Breakfast with Santa event at Waveny: L-R: Tina Feldman (Young Women’s League), George Baez, Santa Claus, Steve Karl. Missing but said to be in the area: Steve Benko. Contributed photo
(Colella laughed to remember one of his family’s favorite Christmas memories of him, as a St. Aloysius School kid, crying during a Christmas play because he was relegated to the role of Santa, having the right body type—a moment immortalized in a beloved photo his mom keeps.)
Steve Karl of Karl Chevrolet has been a sponsor of Breakfast with Santa since its inception, and the Elm Street business has been involved with Toys for Tots for some 40 years, he said.
Karl himself drives a pickup to Waveny and parks it under the porte cochere in front of the main house, and a major highlight is that U.S. Marine George Baez, a Norwalk firefighter, greets the kids as they enter the event.
“That part of the breakfast to me is the most impressive, because the kids actually react to him and want to get their photo taken with a real soldier almost more than Santa,” Karl said. “He’s got his white gloves and hat, really looks great and he’s wonderful to come out and do that.”