Planes, Santa, The Grinch, music at Rowland Freedom Center

For shoppers, it was Super Saturday, the last Saturday before Christmas.

At the Rowland Freedom Center, an aviation and military museum at Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville, the day was super in its own way on the winter solstice.

There was Santa and The Grinch making an appearance — definitely available for photos, too — local “Nutcracker” dancers, a bake sale, and live music.

And nearly a dozen vintage planes parked cheek by jowl inside the County Airport Road museum, in part because wet weather on the shortest day of the year forced some of them inside, said Paul Mirich, general manager of the center.

For the six-hour event, titled the 12 Planes of Christmas, Paul Tildsley, 43, brought his daughter, Athena, to the center for the fourth time in as many years and showed off smartphone photos to prove it.

Athena, 6, got her photo taken with Santa, aka Dave Reeves, and The Grinch, aka Jacob Castillo, both of Vacaville, and loved it, of course.

Athena Tildesley, 6, continues her five-year tradition of taking a photo with Santa and a plane during the 12 Planes of Christmas celebration at the Rowland Freedom Center in Vacaville on Saturday. (Chris Riley/The Reporter)

The elder Tildsley, a maintenance planner at a Martinez refinery, said, “The Santa pictures are so unique. You’re not taking Santa pictures in front of a plane anywhere else.”

Being at the Rowland Center for the special event has been a Tildsley family tradition.

“For sure,” said Paul Tildsley, adding that he and his daughter have 10,000 followers on social media.

The Mitchell family of Vallejo came to the center for largely the same reasons but with nothing specific in mind, said Sandra Mitchell, a real estate and property manager and the mother of Carly, 4, and Nathan, 2.

“We were looking for something to do with the kids in the morning,” she said, adding, “Something fun and educational.”

“Something Christmasey to do,” said family patriarch Eric Mitchell, a marketer for Sutter Health in Alameda County.

Christmasey, indeed.

Mirich and Shaina Whaley, the center’s project manager, and volunteers festooned the space — what could easily double as an airplane hangar — with garlands and holiday decorations.

By late morning up in the Mirich’s second-floor office, Reeves, a retired Air Force technical sergeant, donned a red St. Nick costume, strapped on a flowing white beard and cinched a black belt around his waist. It was his first foray as the jolly fat man and bringer of gifts to good boys and girls during the holidays, he said.

On cue, which was the song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Reeves descended the stairs, with several children waving enthusiastically from afar when they spotted him, and walked onto the center floor. He made his way eventually to a tent-covered area just beyond a center door, where he sat for photos as families with children waited in line.

Shortly afterward, Castillo, dressed as the iconic Dr. Seuss character in a stomach-turning green outfit and equally hideous mask that flashed the trouble-causing mischievous smile, made his entrance with the ominous song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”

Inside the tented area for photos, not every child wanted to pose with Castillo. One toddler took a look at him — the costume communicating misanthropy and hostility — and immediately burst into tears, then walked backward and sought the refuge of a comforting parent. For a moment, the effect of the book by Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Seuss Geisel, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” was brought to life in real time.

But to soften the fright, there was Katelyn Reid, 27, a teacher at the Royal School of Ballet in downtown Vacaville, who was dressed in an all-white costume as the lead character in Tchaikovskly’s “Nutcracker.” With her was Jacob Eifert, 18, dressed in a sky blue tunic as the Nutcracker Prince. No surprise, occasionally Reid would have to explain to a young girl who she was and then demonstrate the major ballet positions.

Later, in the afternoon, Buckingham Music performed the Sarajevo Christmas Concert modeled after the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s performance, part of which includes the sounds from “Carol of the Bells,” or the Ukrainian Bell Carol.

Explaining the purpose of the event, Mirich told The Reporter that his hope was for the children and families to enjoy themselves “and learn about history.”

Besides vintage and historic planes and vehicles dating back to World War I, the Rowland Freedom Center includes displays of various items used by soldiers, such as uniforms, and also a Civil War Medal of Honor, artifacts from the USS Arizona, the USS Missouri, and an artifact from a B-25 that took part in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo during World War II.

Center hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Sunday, open year-round, except on major holidays.

For more information, telephone (707) 449-3402 for visit rowlandfreedomcenter.org or find it on Facebook and Instagram.