Santa's Train Arrives in Salem on Schedule (VIDEO/SLIDESHOW)

Four years after kicking off, the November event is more popular than ever, and it is becoming a local family tradition in Oregon's Willamette Valley.

Photos by Dexter Phoenix and video by Tim King Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - Santa Claus arrived in style in Salem, Oregon today.

Each year, along with Mrs. Claus, Santa visits the Salem Carousel where he hangs around for the coming weeks, making sure local kids get a chance to offer up their wish lists.

Hundreds of people were on hand today and the sun was shining, as the train rolled up right on schedule with the magical elf and his entourage.

The train's horn blew as it rolled up to the crowd of happy and anxious kids and their families. Santa and Mrs. Claus were located in the train's caboose and they seemed equally anxious to meet their awaiting Christmas fans.

The Salem Carousel's Marie Bradford, says it is one of the brightest times of the year at the Riverfront Park facility that contains some of the finest collections of hand carved carousel horses in the nation.

"It is so fun, and the excitement is everywhere. I can't believe the size of the crowd", Bradford said.

Photos by Dexter Phoenix

You see, the word is that Santa keeps a whole gathering of elves at the Carousel in the off season. In fact, you can learn more about the Carousel Wood Carvers by visiting Carousel Wood Carvers Create Lifetime Memories.

The weather for today's event was nothing less than superb, the families in attendance appeared to enjoy the special event as much as ever. Almost all of the people Salem-News.com spoke to had attended the event before. Bradford says the event is definitely growing.

"Some of these people have been coming here for the last four years, so hopefully this has created a family tradition for some of the families. The weather is great and it couldn't be a better day"

Four years after kicking off, the November event is more popular than ever, Bradford says, and it is becoming a local family tradition in Oregon's Willamette Valley.

Bradford says they call this Santa their "Gentle Giant" and the large man seems very in sync with those only a fraction of their size.

Special thanks to Salem-News.com News Photographer Jerry Freeman, here are the sights and sounds of Santa's arrival in Salem today, from Salem-News.com Photojournalist Tim King:

Dexter Phoenix has worked as a staff and freelance photographer since the mid-1990's and has a wealth of professional experiences on his resume. We welcome his presence to our staff and Salem-News.com.
This native of Great Britian moved to Los Angeles in 2007, where he photographed general news, general Interests, sports, freelance model photo work, and also stock images. In his career Dexter has had photos published : World wide, in many magazines and newspapers and online. Throughout the course of his career he has experience with technology of all imaginable types. In his career as a photographer Dexter has covered stories in Norway, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Great Britain, France, Mexico, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Turkey, Somalia, Tunisia, Algeria. Angola, Iran, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Colombia, United States. Email inquiries about photo purchase to Dexter at the above address.
You can email Dexter Phoenix, Salem-News.com Photographer/Reporter, at innocent_p0stcard@hotmail.com