THE lawns of Hope Gardens in Kingston will be transformed for three exciting days when Garfield’s Christmas Wonderland comes to town from December 18 to 20.

The organisers feel that this Wonderland is the ultimate family event, with all three days, from the Friday to the Sunday being chock-full of activities designed for every member of the family.

The organisers promise “a full entertainment package geared at the whole family”. The brainchild of Peter Shoucair, who says the idea to do this kind of event came about because of “the lack of quality family entertainment”.

According to Shoucair, “There are limited opportunities for the family to go out and enjoy themselves, especially in this kind of easy, fun-filled atmosphere and Christmas is a time when families come together, so we figured this would be an ideal treat,” the release stated.

Garfield Christmas Wonderland will be the first of its kind in the island and will see kids getting the chance to interact with cartoon characters such as Garfield, Batman, Krypto The SuperDog, Pink Panther, Care Bears, and local cartoon characters such as KFC’s Chicky and Chubby from Jamaica Beverages.

Other attractions will be Santa Claus “coming in from the North Pole”, according to Shoucair.

“For a small fee, kids can go to Santa’s Village, take photos with him, and in addition to that will have free access to Candyland where they can enjoy free candy. While the kids are amusing themselves adults can take the opportunity to go to the shopping village and get a head start on their Christmas shopping,” Shoucair added.

Tons of attractions will be available over the three days and they all come under the price of one ticket. The activities include one free ride in the amusement park, meeting and greeting all the DC Comics’ characters and a 60-minute seated live Garfield show done twice per day, at 2:00 pm and again at 6:00 pm.

The perks do not stop there as ticket price also covers other attractions such as the petting zoo, free access to Coco Jam, a child-centred entertainment complex in Barbican Plaza. This will be set up within the venue, and also includes KFC’s Chicky Land, rides and games, at shopping village and children yoga classes.

Garfield’s Christmas Wonderland is sponsored by the Jamaica Observer, TVJ, KFC and Pizza Hut, Scotiabank, New Line Motors, Jamaica Beverages, ATL, JIIC, Marksman, King Alarm, Shakti, Jamaica Pegasus, Oasis, New Line, Tru Juice, Breezes, Trident, Guardsman Group, among others and is endorsed by the Jamaica Tourist Board, the Ministry of Education and the Child Development Agency.