Charlie Brown, you need involvement!<\/b><\/p>\n
My search for Santa started here in Victoria with the elusive mall Santa as my target. Perhaps the man behind the beard could help me out.<\/p>\n Victoria-based musician Hank Angel was employed as your typical mall Santa for two years at Tillicum Mall. His Christmas career began a few years prior when he volunteered at an elementary school in Edmonton where his sister was employed.<\/p>\n \u201cShe asked me to do it because whenever they used one of the staff at the school, the kids would always guess who it was,\u201d says Angel. The kids failed to guess Angel\u2019s identity, but not for lack of trying. \u201cI remember this one girl, she was like 14 going on 19,\u201d says Angel, \u201cshe walked up to me and looked me in the eye and said, \u2018If you tell me who you are, I\u2019ll let you kiss me.\u2019 That\u2019s the only moment I lost my composure. I had never been propositioned by a 14-year-old.\u201d Undeterred, Angel applied for the position at Tillicum Mall.<\/p>\n There is more than one type of Santa here in Victoria. The Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) hires a Father Christmas every holiday season. He and Mother Christmas wander downtown giving out candy canes, posing for pictures, and spreading holiday cheer. Shawn Fehr, a local insurance broker, was hired as Father Christmas last year.<\/p>\n Fehr met Dianne Kanstrup, DVBA\u2019s holiday organizer, through the Program for Academic and Creative Enrichment (PACE) at School District 62. \u201cI\u2019ve been quite involved in the PACE family for a number of years now,\u201d says Fehr, the father of two girls. \u201cDianne just said she needed somebody, so I said, \u2018Sure, what the heck, I\u2019ll give it a try.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The big red suit has its perks and quirks, according to Fehr. \u201cIt\u2019s a really unique experience,\u201d he says. \u201cThe way the costume works is nobody can tell who you are. It can be completely anonymous.\u201d<\/p>\n That can certainly help with stage fright. But the outfit can also be incredibly laborious, according to Angel.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was incredibly hot and incredibly itchy,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you see Santa and he\u2019s laughing and waving and smiling, they really should give him an Academy Award.\u201d<\/p>\n Angel describes the suit as a one-man oven. \u201cYou\u2019re wearing a red velvet suit with a pillow tucked into your pants,\u201d he says, \u201cso the heat has nowhere to go but up to your collar, but your collar is covered up with fur, and overtop of the fur is this big white beard. And then you have your own hair, a wig on top of that, and on top of that the velvet hat with fur trim. You\u2019re cooking, basically.\u201d<\/p>\n Fehr, having the benefit of walking outside, didn\u2019t comment on the heat of the suit but did agree on the costume having difficulties. \u201cWe\u2019ve certainly been offered free hot chocolates,\u201d says Fehr, \u201cbut it\u2019s really hard to eat with the beard on.\u201d Unless he can get a treat to go, Fehr says he has to decline. It turns out milk and cookies are only available for certain Santas.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a wonderful life, says Santa<\/b><\/p>\n On the whole, playing Santa seems to be a positive experience. \u201cMost of the time you\u2019re running into visitors or tourists,\u201d says Fehr. \u201cThey get so excited and it\u2019s really neat to be able to make people\u2019s days. I smile and give them a candy cane and they\u2019re just so excited to have the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/received_m_mid_1384897792298_eea624aeab78165638_0.jpeg\")
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