small business saturday east lake village shopping center
The Pajaro Valley High School Band performs a string of Christmas tunes during the Shop Small Saturday event at the East Lake Village Shopping Center. Photo: Tarmo Hannula/The Pajaronian

The folks at East Lake Village Shopping Center kicked off the holiday season with their Shop Small Saturday event, where businesses there welcomed the public to an all-day festive celebration.

The event included:

• Santa and Mrs. Claus greeting 

• Coffee and Cars Car Show hosted by retired Watsonville Police Chief Manny Solano

• Live music by the Pajaro Valley High School Band

• Free hot cocoa for kids from Coffeeville

• Crafts at Staff of Life Market

• Corrigan’s Christmas Tree Lot

• Hay rides from the Agricultural History Project

• Holiday shopping at the East Lake Village businesses 

“This is about community and this is your community center,” said Clark Codiga, property manager. “This event is a great way to get the holiday started.”

Businesses joining in included Staff of Life, Ace Hardware, Coffeeville, Fruition Brewing, Ferrari Florist, Sushi Qu, Carmona’s BBQ, TBH Studios, Dollar Saver and others.

Solano said about two dozen classic vehicles were on show during the car show. 

At Corrigan’s, shoppers picked through hundreds of trees, from tabletop size to 12-feet. The business has been running since 1992.

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Tarmo Hannula has been the lead photographer with The Pajaronian newspaper in Watsonville since 1997. More recently Good Times & Press Banner. He also reports on a wide range of topics, including police, fire, environment, schools, the arts and events. A fifth generation Californian, Tarmo was born in the Mother Lode of the Sierra (Columbia) and has lived in Santa Cruz County since the late 1970s. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz and has traveled to 33 countries.

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