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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Santa Claus is coming downtown.</p><p>The Jolly Old Elf will make appearances at the HolidayPop-Up Shops twice before Christmas &#8212; once for people and once for pets.</p><p>On Saturday, Dec. 15, Santa will appear for storytime and photos from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the shops, which are running at The Midtown Village, 41 S. Main St.</p><p>Santa will return to the shops on Saturday, Dec. 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to pose for photos with pets for a $5 donation, with proceeds to benefit the Blue Chip Farm Animal Refuge.</p><p>Sponsored by the PPL Foundation with partner Insalaco Development Group, the shops will be open Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 23.</p><p>Some 11 different anchor Pop-Up Shop vendors will give shoppers a new array of retail choices, provided by some of the area&#8217;s best independent retailers.</p><p><strong>Elf Academy for kids</strong></p><p>Also next weekend, the shops will offer a &#8220;Children&#8217;s Elf Academy&#8221; from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 16.</p><p>The free event is for children ages 4 and up. All children 6 and under must be accompanied by an adult.</p><p>Elf trainees will be taught to complete fun tasks including &#8220;elf and safety training,&#8221; gift wrapping, reindeer food making, ornament creation and more.</p><p>Class size is limited to 20, and elves must be registered by Dec. 14. To register, call Cassie at 570-846-1424 or email cassie@wbdcp.org.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Patrice Persico, of Shavertown, takes a selfie with Santa on the final day of the 2017 Downtown Wilkes-Barre Holiday Pop-up Shops. Santa will return for this year&#8217;s shops on Saturday, Dec. 15. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_TTL121717PopUpShops_1.cmyk_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Patrice Persico, of Shavertown, takes a selfie with Santa on the final day of the 2017 Downtown Wilkes-Barre Holiday Pop-up Shops. Santa will return for this year&#8217;s shops on Saturday, Dec. 15. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Roger DuPuis</p><p>rdupuis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Santa will pose for people, pet photos at Pop-Up Shops