Faith Community Church hosted its 19th annual “Festividad for Christ” celebration Saturday on their campus in Santa Clarita.   Hundreds of people from the community were taking part in free lunch, cotton candy, popcorn, face painting, gifts for children up to age 13, what the church called “gently used” clothing and shoes for people to browse through and take home, and a petting zoo with goats, ducks and other animals.  A petting zoo was available for attendees, who could pet goats, ducks and rabbits at Faith Community Church on Saturday, Dec. 21. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal “It’s an opportunity for us to make our church present to the community without being invasive,” said event coordinator Sid Mendoza. “We just want people to know that we’re here.”  Mendoza added that about 170 church volunteers were helping to make Festividad an enjoyable time for guests. Some volunteers helped guests navigate the full parking lot coming in. At the top of the hill, others barbecued food for a long line of people.   Volunteers from Faith Community Church give out food to attendees during the “Festividad for Christ” event on Saturday, Dec. 21. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal Kids were running around, families had hands full with plates of food and gifts under their arms, an outdoor dining hour with plenty of seating was jam-packed, and Christmas music played to keep the celebration lively.  Tables were also set up with free Bibles and other literature. Then, inside the church, guests could get wrapped gifts for children by gender and age group, from 0 to 18 months old, 2 to 4 years old, 5 to 8 years old and 9 to 13 years old. The presents came from various organizations, Mendoza said, including the California Highway Patrol.  Attendees could receive a free Bible during the “Festividad for Christ” event on Saturday, Dec. 21. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal Behind the church were the free clothing and shoes, which church members donated, and the petting zoo where kids got to interact with the animals.  Canyon Country resident Rosio Hernandez came with her daughter, Ashley, who had her 5-month-old son with her. They’d gone to the event a few years back. They were enjoying the celebration with the newest member of the family on Saturday.  Others at the event came with their full families and friends.   According to Pastor Greg Gifford, an outreach pastor and counselor at the church, past Festividad events had ice for the kids to play in, but the petting zoo, he said, seemed to be just as much of a hit, particularly over the weekend with the sun shining and temperatures in the low 70s.   Faith Community Church Senior Pastor Steve Jackson, who’s been a part of all of the Festividad for Christ events since 1991, said everyone to attend would be well fed, and every single child there would get a gift. He was pleased with the work his church was doing.  Volunteers from Faith Community Church barbecue during the “Festividad for Christ” event on Saturday, Dec. 21. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal “We want to bless our community in a really meaningful way,” he said.  According to Mike Metcalf, who organized Festividad for Christ in previous years, the event usually gets around 500 to 600 people each year. He said there were easily 500 people there on Saturday.   And with that, he, like the others from the church, was off into the crowd of bustling people making merry, chatting with guests, helping in any way he could and taking in all the activity.  Alexandra Pena, 7, and her father, Chris Pena, hand out ice cream from their business called “The Cart Collective” during the “Festividad for Christ” event on Saturday, Dec. 21. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal Attendees could take home free clothes during the “Festividad for Christ” event on Saturday, Dec. 21. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal The post Festividad event offers gifts, goodies and Christmas cheer  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.