Father Christmas drops in at Lake Wylie Lions dinner, breakfast

The River Hills/Lake Wylie Lions Club’s annual Pancake Breakfast on Dec. 10 was the most successful one yet with more than 500 children and adults attending at Camp Thunderbird, said Neil Nelson, club first vice president.

Nelson and Lion Lee Kehler were co-chairs of the event, which received a boost from title sponsor Paul Boggs’ Wealth Management Company. The pancake event, supported with help from Camp Thunderbird, has become one of the leading holiday events in Lake Wylie.

Founded several years ago by the late Dick Pastor, the event’s proceeds go to Lions charities. Along with breakfast, children visit with Father Christmas (Lion Frank Van Leer).

Special events included free eye examinations with the Lions’ Sight Pedia Vision camera, a test valued at $100 per child. Other attractions were Bethel Volunteer Fire Department with an aerial ladder and an educational smoke house, York County Sheriff’s Department’s mounted horse patrol, magician Adrian Gagnon, face painting and cookie decorating.

Earlier in the week, Father Christmas dropped in at the club’s annual holiday dinner to greet and give gifts to students from the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg. The students annually give a singing performance at the dinner at River Hills Country Club.

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Father Christmas drops in at Lake Wylie Lions dinner, breakfast."