Santa Claus is bringing holiday events with him when he comes to town today.

The annual Santa Comes to Town event will be provided by the Egyptian Theatre, the DeKalb High School Madrigals and Santa himself. The event has been a tradition in DeKalb for more than 10 years.

“It’s a great way to get people into our downtown and to see what our local shops have to offer,” said Jessica Struthers, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce events manager.

Starting at 6 p.m., guests can gather at the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. Second St., for cookies and hot cocoa while watching the DeKalb High School Madrigals perform. Santa makes his appearance at 7 p.m.

People involved in the program said they love to see the tradition every year, which they said brings the community together.

“It’s a great family event, free and open to the public,” said Alex Nerad, Egyptian Theatre executive director. “It provides activities for families to do as [well as] providing a sense of community.”

Even high school students are excited to be able to give back to their community.

“I love singing. It’s always fun to go around and sing in the community and see people’s reactions,” said Samantha Click, DeKalb High School senior and madrigal singer.

Click and the Madrigals travel to elementary schools. She said she loves being able to show younger kids what they could be a part of some day.

“We hope that [the community] finds a little happiness or cheer in our singing and enjoy our performance, our costumes and all the pizazz that goes with being in a singing group,” said Matthew Callahan, DeKalb High School sophomore and madrigal singer.

Callahan said nothing compares to the audience’s reactions.

“It’s rewarding; whether you see the kids’ faces when you’re singing a solo, or watching the audience awe after their surprise that a soprano hits a note,” Callahan said.