If there was ever a perfect way to kick off the holiday season, the Spalding County Parks & Recreation Department hit it on the mark Thursday night at its Festival of Lights at Airport Road Park.

From the moment shuttles dropped passengers off at the festive, arched entrance, it was non-stop holiday spirit for the young and the young at heart.

A conspicuous array of greeters, that included seventh-grader Zari Hall as a Christmas tree, eighth-grader Tevin Glass as the Cat in the Hat and seventh-grader Rashad Joiner as the Grinch, met each and every person with soft peppermint.

Coerced into participating last year by their godmother, Tevin and Rashad were happy to sign up this time.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Tevin said. “You get to see all the smiles on the little kids’ faces and how they play and all. It’s wonderful.”

“It reminds you of how you used to be when you were younger,” Rashad said. “Like a toddler.”

Although this is not the first year Parks & Recreation hosted this event, athletic supervisor Angie Stokes said this was definitely the biggest turnout.

“Last year we had 385 in the rain,” Stokes said. “This year we are expecting double. This is our second year with Santa Zone. We expanded it to include Penguin Pass. This is the first year for Penguin Pass and the movie, ‘Happy Feet,’ playing. It’s a hit.”

The U.S. post office was also on hand, with its specialty mailboxes, to handle mailing letters to Santa; Elf School was operating and issuing graduation certificates; and the little ones could even leave Penguin Pass as penguins.

“They’re having a ball out here,” said Parks & Recreation employee Cortese “Ms. Peaches” Mathis, who oversaw Penguin Pass.

But, the big deal for all, especially Vanessa Crawley, who brought 6-year-old Benjamin and 5-year-old Alexis, was the big guy.

“We came last year and we love the lights,” Crawley said. “But we really love Santa. We gotta see Santa.”