Santa Claus will be getting away from the North Pole a few times this holiday season to visit downtown Mesa and join in the Merry Main Street festivities.

Jolly Ol’ St. Nick will be taking Christmas wishes and be available for photos 5 p.m.-9 p.m. on the following weekends at Mesa’s Christmas tree, 1 N. Macdonald:

• Friday, Dec. 3, and Saturday, Dec. 4.
• Friday, Dec. 10, and Saturday, Dec. 11.
• Friday, Dec. 17, and Saturday, Dec. 18.

Visit with Santa for free and bring your phone or camera to take a picture. Don’t miss your chance to see Santa before he needs to get back to the North Pole to load up the sleigh, according to a release.

Merry Main Street offers numerous activities and events including the Winter Wonderland Ice Rink, open daily through Jan. 2; Mesa’s Menorah, a 12-foot-tall Menorah which will have a light added nightly through Dec. 6; Jack Frost’s Food Truck Forest on Fridays and Saturdays at Pioneer Park and Santa’s Merry Makers Marketplace Dec. 17 and 18.

For a complete list of Merry Main Street activities, including dates and times, go to merrymainst.com.

Merry Main Street is sponsored by the city of Mesa, DPR Construction, Mesa Parks and Recreation, Downtown Mesa Association, Visit Mesa, Mesa Chamber of Commerce, Benedictine University, Boeing, Caliber, Lennar, HomeServe, Hunter Contracting Co., Nesbitt Contracting, Sloan Park, SRP, Delta Hotels, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and Mesa Water.