Petaluma welcomes Santa

<p>With one hand, Santa Claus shook tiny hands and fingers as he made his way past a throng of kids and parents eager to greet him Saturday at Golden Eagle Shopping Center in Petaluma.</p><p>With the other hand, he held a white and burgundy umbrella — which he never had to use because a pouring rain had stopped just an hour earlier.</p><p>Santa arrived promptly at noon aboard the tugboat Bernice Lind, a Petaluma River tradition for more than a quarter century. He was accompanied by Mrs. Santa Claus, as well as dancers from the Petaluma School of Ballet, sporting their Nutcracker Suite costumes.</p><p>Waiting at the dock were Renea Magnani of Sonoma, her her husband, two daughters, Victoria, 4, and Isabella, 7, and their grandmother. It was the family's first time seeing Santa in Petaluma.</p><p>They usually catch him in Sonoma, where he's due to arrive at 5 p.m. on Friday, riding on a fire truck on his way to help light up City Hall.</p><p>Victoria and Isabella were among hundreds of kids waiting to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. Victoria said she wants a Little Mommy Walk and Giggle Doll, while Isabella, a second-grader at Prestwood Elementary, said she wants a voice recorder.</p><p>“She'll use it for her poem of the month,” Magnani said. “It's a poem she has to learn and recite for oral language development.”</p><p>New this year was an entertainment stage on the west end of the shopping center. The lineup included performers from Cinnabar Theater and from the Pacific Empire Chorus, a group of female singers who perform in the Sweet Adeline style, said Deborah Garber, holiday event coordinator for the Petaluma Visitors Center, which hosts Santa's visit.</p><p>After his tug boat docked, Santa slowly made his way through a chorus of voices calling out, “Hi, Santa,” and through a human aisle of kids and parents in the shopping center parking lot.</p><p>Courtney Latham of Petaluma brought her nephews, Ben Vollmer, 2, and Ryan Vollmer, 6. Ryan said he wanted an archery set and a 49ers football.</p><p>When asked what his little brother wanted, Ryan said, “He wants the archery set just like me.”</p><p>Latham said her nephews have unsuccessfully tried to get a glimpse of Santa on Christmas Eve.</p><p>“We always hear the bells, but we can never quite catch him,” she said.</p><p>MacKenzie Morarity, 3, got a surprise when Santa went up to her, picked her up and gave her a hug. She later said she wanted a doll house and Barbie.</p><p>“It's great for the kids,” said MacKenzie's father Joe Morarity, a longtime Petaluma resident. “Just to see her face light up.”</p>