Santa and his helpers are everywhere this time of year. But if those department store bell ringers and shopping mall offshoots just don’t live up to the holiday hype, there’s one Santa that will have you believing in a big way. A really big way. Continuing the tradition he started last year, Really Big Santa returns to the Plaza Theatre on Dec. 8 for Santa’s Super Saturday Show. As his name implies, Really Big Santa is a very large version of the big guy from the North Pole. But don’t let his towering frame intimidate you. Really Big Santa is a jolly fellow who will sing and dance with you, offer up his homemade hot cider, take pictures with you and host a screening of Jim Henson‘s 1977 TV movie Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas. As he prepares for this big event, he takes a moment to have this fireside chat with Wrestling with Pop Culture.
Santa’s Saturday Super Show features singing, dancing, cider and other holiday fun. For those who weren’t there last year, what else can people expect?
Photo by Evan Bartelston.
We’ll have prizes, Santa’s own special hot cider, a floor show with the folks from Blast-Off Burlesque and wrap it all up with a sing-along and Santa’s dance party! We also will start pictures with Santa at 11 a.m. and at 8 p.m. for the night show. For $15 you get a digital copy emailed to you and a print mailed to your home!
Who else will be joining you at this event?
My helper Max, who is a real elf. We’ll have classical Christmas guitar music provided by “Evil” Jim Wright from the band Bigfoot. Blast-Off Burlesque will be performing with me and our pictures will be taken by Knotty Pictures this year. We are excited! The night show will have a very special surprise crew showing up!
How does the matinee show differ from the night-time show?
The matinee show is not as loud, has longer sitting times for pictures with Santa and has fewer German Christmas characters in the show.
Speaking of German Christmas characters, rumor has it another lesser known (at least to most Americans) Christmas creature will be making an appearance at the night show. What do you know about the Krampus and the bar crawl he has planned in conjunction with your event?
We will be staging the annual Little Five Points Krampus Krawl in conjunction with 7 Stages Theatre, Java Lords and the Euclid Ave. Yacht Club right after the movies wrap. We’ll be hitting The Righteous Room, Manuel’s Tavern, the Five Spot, the Little 5 Corner Tavern, the EAYC, Elmyr and some others over the course of the night. The Euclid Ave. Yacht Club will have Bavarian food specials all night, too!
You don’t claim to be the real Santa, but you’re just as jolly as the big guy at the North Pole. Is there some sort of criteria Saint Nick looks for when choosing his helpers? Was any sort of training involved?
Photo by Evan Bartelston.
I am an official Santa Claus which is different than the Santa Claus. I have a 24/365 hotline to the big guy, and I have a territory I cover as his ambassador. I handle requests, manufacturing, livestock and distribution for my territory as if I were the old man. He picks us personally, trains us rigorously and trusts us implicitly. I am proud to be one of the few.
Kids are often afraid of Santa even when he’s not Really Big. Do you find that you’re more intimidating than the average Santa? If so, what do you do to appease frightened girls and boys?
No. I actually seem to have an easier time with them as I’m willing to work with them if they are scared. It’s not my size, it’s my demeanor. That and the parents that bring their kids to Really Big Santa aren’t pushing their kids to do something they don’t want. I rarely have a kid that doesn’t end up getting a picture of some sort out of the visit.
I’m sure you’re very busy this time of year. Where else might we see Really Big Santa this holiday season?
The best place to keep up with me this year is www.facebook.com/reallybigsanta. I also will be appearing on Public Broadcasting Atlanta in my new TV special, Christmas Around Atlanta. It will be airing all month on Atlanta’s PBA30.