A convoy — led by a police cruiser and members of the UK Cheer Team — made their way to children's hospital to deliver what will ultimately amount to thousands of toys and gifts collected through a variety of drives.
Leading the Parade of Toys was Kris Kringle himself, looking suspiciously like UK Police Chief Joe Monroe.
"Chief Santa started year two of this," he explains. "Then it went year after year, Santa got a little belly going here, and then the beard start growing as well."
That's a beard that takes eight months to grow in, but Monroe says it's a daily reminder in the mirror of what the season is all about.
"My favorite part is seeing the smiles on people," he says.
"Kentuckians are amazing. We're blessed," says Christina Briggs, director of the UK Golisano Children’s affiliate network. "Seeing it grow year over year... you never think that it can be beat, and then next year you see it and you're again blown away by how much generosity is in the community."
The toys were first collected in memory of Jonathan Ard, a Lexington native and Iraq War veteran who passed away in 2016.