The Progress Center for Black Women hosted its annual “Photos with Santa” at a new location this year, as the event has continued to grow and more Madisonians incorporate it into their holiday traditions.
On Dec. 6, the annual “Photos with Santa, now in its seventh year, brought families across the area together to build holiday traditions. This year, the event relocated to Olbrich Botanical Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave., as increased interest necessitated a larger space than the Madison Children’s Museum, where it had typically been held.
“What we love about this year partnering with Olibrich is the expanded space, so we’re not so tight, and we love that all the attendees at our event can attend the train show at no cost,” said Sabrina Madison, District 17 alder and founder and CEO of the Progress Center for Black Women.
After getting photos with Santa, attendees had the chance to attend Olbrich’s Holiday Express Model Train and Flower Show for free.
Madison estimates that over 300 families attended this year. The event started in 2018, when 225 visitors attended. However, as “Photos with Santa” gained popularity, Madison also got to see families grow.
“We get families who come every year, so we get to see these kids grow up with us. It’s amazing, because there are a couple of pregnant moms here today, so we always look forward to seeing the baby born,” Madison said. “We love seeing these kids come like that every year.”
Madison mentioned a family that has shown up every year. The previous year, they brought their photo album with them, containing every photo with Santa they had taken since the event started. They didn’t bring it with them this year, but creating those memories and traditions is what Madison hopes to create.
Another component is to provide free books to children that are representative of them. The Progress Center for Black Women partnered with the Madison Reading Project, a nonprofit that provides free books to kids and educators to spread the joy of literacy.
One of the most important things to us is that all parts of kids’ unique identities are seen in the books that they are reading, that they have in their homes, in their schools and their after-school programs,” said Natalie Holdahl, program director with the Madison Reading Project. “We want that to be seen and reflected in the books and the stories that they are seeing.”
Madison herself makes it a mission to grab a few books each year from the Madison Reading Project. This year, she grabbed books on former Georgia State Rep. Stacey Abrams and Beyoncé.
