Three-year-old Elias Zamora’s eyes got big when Santa Claus rounded the corner and headed toward his table.
“He’s here,” he exclaimed in wonderment, darting under the table and then tumbling as he tripped to the floor. He jumped up quickly and bounded into Santa’s arms.
That scene was among the many that prompted smiles at the 12th annual Miracle on 19th Street at the Denver ChopHouse & Brewery on Tuesday.
Elias, his grandmother, Rosalie, and his sister, Savonnah Garcia, were among the expected 4,000 people at the event.
Every Christmas, the ChopHouse and others sponsor the meal for homeless families and others in need of shelter services.
This time, Elias got a snapshot of himself sitting on Santa’s lap. He and his relatives got a meal with all the holiday trimmings — ham, turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie.
“We are so thankful,” said grandmother Rosalie, who is staying with the children at a shelter on West Colfax Avenue.
Robert Kaczmarczyk, executive managing partner of the ChopHouse, said families staying at shelters also got gift-wrapped packages delivered last week that included essentials such as coats, other clothing and toiletries.
“The theme is a day of dignity,” said Kaczmarczyk, noting the Christmas Day event allows families to sit down for a white-tablecloth dinner in a fancy restaurant. Volunteers who serve them often sit down to chat.
The event, which costs $100,000 to host, requires at least 300 volunteers, along with the ChopHouse staff and management team.
For Scott Williams, 42, the event meant the best meal he had had all year. Living on the streets, Williams said he appreciated the chance to drink all the hot coffee he wanted. He planned to pack up another meal that he could take with him.
“It looks good, but it tastes even better,” he said.
Larry Vigil brought two friends he met at Labor Ready, the site where he looks for construction work weekly. The jobs, offering $5 an hour, are sporadic, sometimes paying for only one day a week.
The work is hard, he said. Years of using a jackhammer have caused him to lose feeling in his hands.
But Tuesday was Christmas Day for him, too, a day for turkey and pie.
More importantly, a volunteer who met Vigil at the event said he would work on finding ways to help him get needed medication.
“Thank you,” Vigil said.
“Mi casa es su casa,” he said to the volunteer, which in English means “My house is your house.”
Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com
