Black Santa tradition continues at Fairyland in Oakland
Replacement makes Fairyland debut Friday. Yes, he’s still black
The calls have been coming for weeks, sometimes up to a dozen per day, according to C.J. Hirschfield, the executive director of Children’s Fairyland.
The callers have asked a variation of the same question: Will Fairyland have a black Santa Claus this year? You better believe it. Eric Martin is taking the reins from Ron Zeno, who was Fairyland’s ebullient Santa for two decades. Zeno, who was black, died in June. He was 66.
Because of Zeno’s popular portrayal, the black Santa in Oakland became a Fairyland tradition, along with passing out gallons of hot cocoa and cider to people who come to Fairy Winterland for the “Snow Queen” and “Nutcracker” puppet shows, the tap-dancing Christmas trees and the parade of lights.
“Ron really was beloved,” Hirschfield said. “Not just for his wonderful Santa but for who he was. He had grown up with Fairyland in his life, and he knew what it meant to generations of kids because he experienced it himself.
“Ron had the Fairyland spirit in his heart.”
So does Martin, who’s been a Fairyland volunteer for 14 years.
He’s played different roles, such as Fairyland’s Easter Bunny. At the Jack o’ Lantern Jamboree during Halloween weekend, Martin taught children how to be swashbucklers at Fairyland’s pirate school.
Now he’s replacing Zeno, and that means thousands of young children lining up to sit on his lap and share their Christmas wishes.
Seeing a black Santa at work is rare, something that probably qualifies as a Christmas miracle in cities other than Oakland. Tim Connaghan of the Kringle Group, which runs a
Santa booking agency, has been training Santas for 16 years.
“I can count the number of black Santas on one hand,” Connaghan said, referring to people who have taken his class. “The thing is there aren’t enough of them.”
Connaghan estimates that probably fewer than 5 percent of working Santas are nonwhite.
And when a black Santa appears, it doesn’t make everyone shout with glee as if they were reindeers. Last year, in fact, the first black Santa at the Mall of America in Minnesota was greeted with racist comments on social media, not cookies and milk.
At least he didn’t have trouble figuring out who was naughty or nice.
When I asked Martin about the significance of his role as a black Santa, his response was reserved.
“I’m not really into the whole color line thing,” he told me. “To me, kids at Christmas need to see a diversity, that Santa Claus can come in any color. I’m not thinking of it as black Santa. Just Santa.”
I agreed with him, but I also pointed out the importance for young people of color to see someone who looks like them be publicly loved and appreciated.
I’ve never seen a black Santa.
“Well, I haven’t either besides Ron and myself,” Martin said. “It’s different. The first time I did it — it was, ‘How am I going to be accepted?’ ”
Some black-owned companies are trying to increase the numbers of black Santas. Former NBA player Baron Davis, a Warrior from 2005 to 2008, started the Black Santa Company in 2016 to create animated characters that represent diverse cultures, beginning with Santa.
On Dec. 1, the Black Santa Company’s Black Santa, and his wife, Mrs. C, were in Oakland for a toy drive at Beast Mode, the Broadway apparel store owned by Marshawn Lynch.
Martin starts his tenure as Santa on Friday night, when Fairy Winterland, which runs through Dec. 23, opens.
His ho-ho-ho is only so-so, so don’t expect to hear him bellowing it throughout the park.
“We’re still working on that one,” he said, laughing. “Ron had a little more depth in his ho-ho-ho.”
When Zeno was sick in 2015, Martin stepped in for three nights. The number of kids surprised Martin, Hirschfield told me. So did the repeated flashes from the cameras and phones taking photos of kids on his lap.
“It was basically onthe-job training,” Hirschfield said. “He gets into the role. He’s focused on that kid, whether the kid is nervous or not. He’s right there with the kid.”
Martin, who is tall like Zeno but much thinner, wore Zeno’s suit for the cameo. He had to stuff the Santa coat with pillows.
“You can’t have a skinny Santa,” he said.
I hung out with Martin last weekend at his house in South Berkeley, where he’s converted a garage into his hangout spot. When he’s not volunteering, Martin works security gigs. During the football season, he’s regularly posted at the Oakland Raiders’ training facility in Alameda.
A string of blinking lights was wrapped around wooden beams in the garage, which was warmed by an indoor propane tank heater. When I noticed the punching bag and a weight bench, Martin made sure I saw the large stainless steel pot that will be used for a seafood boil at the end of this month.
He’s cooking for his own birthday party.
It will also be a celebration of his biggest role at Fairyland.
“It’s a big job, but it’s all about the kids,” he said. “I hope I represent Ron and live up to the legend.”