Filling Santa’s boots for charity

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This article was published 10/12/2018 (2791 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To quote the world-famous philosopher Britney Spears: “Oops…I did it again!”

To be more specific, oops, I’m about to do it again, by which I mean, for the umpteenth time, I am going to dress up in a sweltering red-velvet suit to portray Jolly Old St. Nick for a wonderful local charity.

Prepare to turn green with envy, because I have been invited to fill the big black boots of Santa Claus this afternoon at Winter Wonderland, a Christmas party organized by Variety, the Children’s Charity of Manitoba, for 300 economically disadvantaged elementary school children.

Busloads of kids from five schools — Dufferin, Lavallee, Machray, Niji Mahkwa and Pinkham — will arrive at the Metropolitan Entertainment Centre by Canad Inns just before noon for a holiday party featuring food, carolling, magic, face-painting, festive entertainment and a visit from the Big Man, by which I mean, Santa, as portrayed by a middle-aged, overweight newspaper columnist.

If you happen to be an impressionable young person reading today’s newspaper, Uncle Doug is NOT saying that he is, in fact, Santa; what Uncle Doug is trying to say is that he is one of Santa’s helpers. Just think of him as being a subordinate Claus, if you catch my drift.

Excuse me for sounding like an overly sentimental Hallmark card, but this children’s party is a perfect example of Winnipeggers coming together to help those in need, especially children.

“The outpouring of generosity towards this event was so overwhelming, we actually had to cap the number of volunteers because of the individuals hearing about the event and wanting to get involved,” is what my philanthropist buddy Louis Trepel, the driving force behind the party, said.

“It is truly inspiring to see how much our community cares about all of these wonderful children. It is going to be a very heartwarming event.”

Which seems like the perfect time to say a few words about my buddy Louis Trepel. The Winter Wonderland party was his idea, because he is the sort of guy who devotes most of his waking hours to thinking about ways to help people in need, especially around the holiday season, and then making it happen.

Louis is a guy whose heart is so big that he doesn’t have room for the rest of his medically important internal organs. I know this because, in recent years, Louis has used his powers of persuasion to talk me into doing more charitable activities than you could shake a family-sized container of eggnog at.

Last year, he talked me into dragging my overstuffed body onstage and gyrating with Thunder from Down Under, an Australian all-male exotic dance revue that was raising funds for charity.

Then, he persuaded me to portray Shermy the hapless shepherd in a special performance of Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s holiday production of A Charlie Brown Double Bill.

This year, he convinced me to put my culinary skills on the line by helping an award-winning chef whip up kid-friendly food for economically disadvantaged Variety kids at Capital Broadway.

To ensure I was ready to play Santa this afternoon — even though I have donned the red suit countless times — Louis insisted I visit the Met last week to check out the venue and get a pep talk on the importance of being extremely jolly for a special group of kids.

“I can’t imagine this party happening without you in the role of Santa,” Louis gushed as we peered over a balcony at the stage where Santa’s throne will be set up. “We want you to be Santa in full form, bigger than life and opening your heart and killing the kids with kindness.

“As Santa, your role is about kindness and caring. Your eyes should twinkle, your personality and energy will light up the room. There will be thunderous excitement. I can feel it. Can you feel it?”

Which is when I replied: “Yes, Louis, I can feel it.”

The way it’s going to work is the kids will be bused in, then met by volunteers from the Sons of Italy decked out as elves, who will escort the kids into the front foyer, which will be festooned with an explosion of holiday decor, including trees and huge inflatable decorations.

Sporting novelty reindeer antlers, the kids will weave their way through the festive decor and be greeted by Mrs. Claus — “She’ll be decked out big time,” Louis noted — before being ushered into the grand theatre for entertainment, Christmas movies, Starbucks hot chocolate, and a feast of cheeseburgers, chicken fingers and veggies and dip.

The kids will be entertained by magicians, balloon artists, glitter tattooists, face painters and Heartly, Variety’s top hat-wearing heart mascot, along with Chad “the Christmas singer” Celaire warbling holiday classics.

Forgive me for bragging, but the highlight will be when Santa makes his grand entrance on an upper balcony, then hits the stage to lead a round of holiday karaoke and whip the kids into a festive frenzy in which they will be bouncing off the walls of the Met.

Next, the Jolly Old Elf ventures into the sugar-fuelled crowd for a meet and greet. “Kids will be climbing on you and stuff like that,” Louis explained. “We’ll have security for you — an elf or two.”

The whole idea is to give these kids a Christmas memory they will never forget. “The sad reality is our province has the highest child-poverty rate of any province,” said Jeff Liba, CEO of Variety, which provides specialized equipment, programs, and services for kids with special needs in Manitoba.

“One in three kids in our province lives in a home where there’s economic disadvantage. Holiday season is such a special time of year that we just want to brighten the lives of kids who might otherwise not have much to look forward to,” Liba told me.

Chimed in Janet Harder, general manager of the Met: “We are so happy to be able to share our venue with all the children and electrify the holiday spirit. We are very grateful to be a part of this and support Louis and Variety.”

Before the kids leave, they get a loot bag stuffed with goodies and practical items, including socks and toques. But they’ll get an even better present — knowing they live in a community that truly cares about them.

doug.speirs@freepress.mb.ca