Later this month Immaculate Heart Retreat Center will present, “How Saint Nicholas became Santa Claus,” a spiritual discussion for kids, parents and grandparents.
The event, “Cocoa and Contemplation” (normally called Coffee and Contemplation) will be lead by Deacon Tom Heavey.
According to an announcement, “The jolly magical Christmas figure we know as Santa Claus has a basis in the life of a real saint carried down through history.”
The event will includes cookies, games, projects, a talk with “St. Nick” and photos with Santa.
It will be Dec. 21 from 9-11 a.m. Cost is $10, kids under 7 years old are free.
For information or to register call 509-448-1224.

Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of SpokaneFāVS.com, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Assistant Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.