BATON ROUGE - Deaf children and their families gathered at Pastime Restaurant for a night of all-inclusive holiday fun Thursday evening.

The event called 'Signing Santa' was hosted by Geaux Sign, an organization that puts together monthly events for the deaf community. The group has been on a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic, making tonight the first gathering since it started.

“It’s really important that we have a safe place to share our culture, our language, and be inclusive with the holiday spirit. We have the same experiences and we use the same communication with sign language with Santa and we’re able to socialize," signed Megan Wimberly, a member of Geaux Sign.

Signing Santa, whose real name is Mike Owens, is a retired teacher from the Louisiana School for the Deaf.

“Many of the people here, I remember as kids when I taught them at the Louisiana School for the Deaf. So I'm happy to come back and meet them and see them every year," Owens said.

With this event, Geaux Sign aimed to provide a healthy social outing for deaf children and spread holiday cheer altogether.