At noon on Friday December 7th, 2018 the Waxhaw Senior Citizen Christmas Party held its 30th annual get together at the Waxhaw Bible Church.  This party broke the books with over 230 senior citizens in attendance.  The Waxhaw Bible Church space was transformed by volunteers including town officials, local high schoolers, Waxhaw Police, Atrium Healthcare, Novant Health, Carolina’s Chiropractic & Spinal Rehab, and the Waxhaw-Weddington Rotary Club.  Many local businesses also contributed to the event, including: 701 Main, Broome St Burgers, Mary O’Neills, Maxwells, Provisions Waxhaw, Queens South, Rippingtons, South Main St BBQ, Stacks Kitchen, and the Waxhaw Creamery. 

Waxhaw Mayor, Stephen Maher, emceed the event.  He spoke about several things and touched on the fact that this party was being held on the 77th anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor.  Mayor Maher led the crown in a moment of silence to remember this horrific event.  But the party then moved on to a lighter note and Elvis came to croon to the crowd.  Chuck Ayers, Charlotte’s Voice of Elvis, performed several songs and interacted with the crowd.  Ayers has been portraying the King for about 30 years and has competed in multiple Elvis competitions and currently travels around the Southeast United States to bring the King’s charisma to all.  He works with two sound technicians, Jim Conley and Jerry Ervin, when performing locally and Conley was at the party to help him with this performance.  Paul Yurksaitis, Pastor of the Waxhaw Bible Church, also provided background piano music during the event.

There were over 30 prizes that were raffled off including teas and cocoa, a foot bath, kitchen items, blankets, and other useful everyday objects.  Originally, the Town of Waxhaw event team chose all of the prizes, but a few years ago, a group of seniors approached the committee to help them choose prizes that would mean more to the attendees.  Now the raffle is one of the highlights of the day!  Each senior was also gifted a small gift card to local grocery, hardware, or other retailers courtesy of the Town of Waxhaw.  Lunch included chicken, gravy, stuffing, baked beans, rolls, mixed vegetables, and a sweet potato casserole with brownies and ice cream for dessert. Sweet tea, coffee, and water were also on the menu.  Reservations were required but Waxhaw residents had free admission while non-residents paid $10.  The Waxhaw Senior Citizen Christmas party brought peace, good will, and happiness to everyone who attended, volunteered, and performed.