Santa Claus is coming to town — and he's staying for the weekend.

First, he'll be landing with a thud on the roof of the Hawthorne hotel in Salem tonight at 6, where the Salem Fire Department will be waiting to lend him a hand, and a ladder.

Once Santa is safely on the ground, he and his elves will pass out candy to the children. Then Santa, the elves and Mayor Kim Driscoll will walk to the Museum Place Mall to light the Christmas tree and take photos.

Tomorrow, Santa Claus and Boston television legend Rex Trailer are scheduled to appear during the Downtown Improvement Committee's 12th annual holiday festival in Danvers Square.

The event runs from 2 to 5 p.m., and police will block off Maple Street from Elm to Hobart streets to make way for the event.

Santa is scheduled to appear for pictures at the Maple Street Church, 90 Maple St., from 2 to 4 p.m., before he climbs aboard a firetruck at 4:30 for a short trip to Danvers Square to light the Christmas tree at 5.

New this year will be a parade-of-trees raffle, said festival organizer Aldonna Linares, a member of the Downtown Improvement Committee.

This involves raffling off seven fully decorated Christmas trees that will also have gift certificates from local merchants hanging from them. Winners can have the trees delivered. Proceeds from the raffle will go toward the restoration of the playground at Endicott Park.

Rex Trailer plans to be on hand for the tree lighting and to promote the band Roundabout & Friend's holiday CD, "Voices of the Season," which features two of Rex Trailer's original songs. Proceeds from the CD sale will go to the Jimmy Fund.

And, finally, on Sunday, Santa will be rolling through Beverly on a Wells Fargo stagecoach. The 62nd annual parade will begin at Cummings Center on Elliott Street at 1:30 p.m., with Santa's horse-drawn coach bringing up the rear.

Superintendent of Schools James Hayes is this year's grand marshal.

Don't forget to bring your canned goods. The middle school youth group from First Baptist Church will be collecting donations for Beverly Bootstraps along the route.

The parade can be viewed along Elliott, Cabot and Rantoul streets.