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CALGARY – Opportunities to visit Santa are more limited during the holiday season with the presence of COVID-19.
In another move to protect the public, Santa will no longer be able to hear children’s Christmas greetings in person in more than a dozen Canadian malls.
Cadillac Fairview (CF), the company that oversees 19 shopping malls across Canada, announced the decision on Friday, calling it “a difficult but prudent course of action.”
Instead, visits with the merry old elf will be added to the previously published online repertoire of CF, which owns and operates the Chinook Center and the Market Mall in Calgary, Alberta.
A full list of affected locations is available on its website.
“We want to continue to offer our customers a safe and comfortable shopping experience and felt with some of the increasing government restrictions, we decided it would be best to move Santa into a virtual experience,” said Darren Milne, general manager by CF Market Shopping center.
He added that all guests will be able to experience virtual Santa experiences online with CF Storytime LIVE on his Facebook page – previous bookings will be notified of this change.
Milne also said there will be no layoffs and contracts with staff playing the classic Christmas character will be honored.
Calgary Santa School Dean says he is ready for this pivot.
“We had a feeling this was coming,” said Jennifer Andrews, head of the program that trains the Santa impersonators for hire.
“It’s quite shocking, but obviously the (public health) measures have to be adhered to carefully.”
He says they’re preparing a truck equipped to look like a sleigh for a physically distant, open-air Santa Claus experience, and more details on guided tours will be available soon.
WHERE SANTA IS COMING TO TOWN
Southcentre Mall, in southeastern Calgary, is proceeding with an in-person photo with Santa with an adapted set.
The tail is physically spaced with markings on the floor, hand sanitizer is provided, an elf performs temperature checks, and sitting on Santa’s lap is not allowed.
Instead, he sits in the front seat of a bright red pickup truck with a clear face cover. Children can sit under the vehicle or in the truck bed for the photo.
“In a year when things have been so difficult, we just want to have some normal experience to the extent that it can be,” said Alexandra Velosa, Southcentre Marketing Manager.
Parents and children say they are thrilled to have an experience with the cheerful old Saint Nick.
“I want to create happy memories and when I’m older I show my kids what we needed to do when the coronavirus hit, with Santa,” said nine-year-old Eva Hummer.
“It’s nice enough to have the chance to show them that Santa is here and he’s fine,” said mom Creselle Boyo.
Velosa says she hopes the event will spread joy and not germ.
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