A holly jolly time aboard the ‘Jolly Aspen’

Published 1:30 pm Tuesday, December 23, 2025

The U.S. Coast Guard brought Santa to Homer last Thursday, Dec. 18. Families boarded the cutter Aspen, which had been decked out for the holidays, to enjoy a visit with “the big guy” as well as treats provided by the crew.

The inaugural “Jolly Aspen” event also served as a canned goods drive to benefit the Homer Community Food Pantry. Lt. Cmdr. Corey Engel, commanding officer of the Aspen, wrote in an email to Homer News last Friday that the drive brought in “just over” 100 food items.

“We were looking for a way to give to the food bank as we did before,” he said in a brief interview aboard the cutter Thursday. “Our ombudsman, Kristen Phillips, came up with the idea … and it just grew legs. Everybody was happy to be a part of it — the crew got excited and put lights up and decorated.”

While the Jolly Aspen came about this year following the cancellation of the regular annual “Haunted Aspen” due to the federal government shutdown, Engel also said that they hope to continue both events in the future.

“(We’ll) definitely try again next year,” he said. “Hopefully it becomes a tradition. We just love the city of Homer and we want to be a part of the community as much as possible. And the food pantry, we know, is a huge part of the community here, so benefiting them is really cool to see.”

Engel also offered thanks to the Homer community on behalf of the Aspen’s crew.

“The community has really given to each of our members in a different way, and we constantly are benefiting from the community here,” he said.