It was a delightful scene at the Dallas Historical Society’s  (DHS) Cocoa with Santa hosted and sponsored by Helen and John Carona and chaired by Calvert Collins-Bratton and Vince Bratton.
        
Families of DHS supporters were surrounded by fanciful Christmas decorations throughout and treated to photos with Santa in a festive outdoor gazebo setting, face painting by students from the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, cookie decorating with colorful sparkles and toppings and delicious food, spirits and libations crafted and sponsored by Wendy Krispin Caterer.  After private photo ops, Santa even mingled with the crowd for more photos and chatted with the partygoers.
        
Calvert began by welcoming the crowd and thanked the Caronas as hosts. She recognized Justin Kimball, a descendant of relatives who fought in the Alamo and Dr. Roy Washburn, DHS board chair. She encouraged the children to continue to enjoy the fun and engaging activities and introduced Karl Chiao, executive director, DHS.
        
Karl also welcomed everyone, thanking the hosts for their gracious generosity in sponsoring this joyful event. He announced the January 2024 launch of an upper level giving society at DHS titled the Directors Inner Circle, and also thanked the Caronas for coming on board as honorary chairs for the society’s inaugural year.
        
Membership in the Directors Inner Circle includes behind-the-scenes access to the DHS archives, private dinners in prominent homes, including conversations with noted authors and historians in open discussions about their books and more exclusive opportunities.
        
The Dallas Historical Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of Dallas and Texas history. Offering education programming, lectures, historic city tours, museum exhibitions, and other special events, this organization strives to be the preeminent resource for exploring, and instilling appreciation for the diverse history of Dallas and Texas. We endeavor to encourage historical inquiry and maintain the importance and relevance of history today. Our collection of archival material- including historic photographs, diaries, journals, papers, periodicals, maps, and books- is available to researchers. Formed in 1922, the Dallas Historical Society is the oldest organization in Dallas County committed to preserving the history of the region and presenting it to the public in innovative and informative ways.
        
Visit the website at www.dallashistory.org for information on membership and more about the Dallas Historical Society.

Photos by Thomas Garza