HO, HO...WHOA!
Santa arrives at mall with masks and distance
As the number of coronavirus cases continues to swell and the holidays approach, some kids are worried the pandemic will affect Santa Claus.
“They’re wondering ‘ Will Santa be coming?’” said Michele Rankin.
The answer, she said, is a resounding “yes,” at least to the Berkshire Mall.
Rankin is the local manager for Cherry Hill Programs, a producer of interactive holiday programs, called “experiences.”
Cherry Hill brings Santa Claus to more than 800 malls and other venues throughout the U.S. and
Canada, including the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing.
As the mall opened Thursday morning, Rankin was putting the finishing touches on Santa’s cozy living room scene in center court.
Just a few minutes later, the jolly old elf was spotted walking through the concourse, greeting shoppers. Making his way to the green velvet-covered armchair that serves as his throne, Santa waved and smiled. But his friendly grin was out of view, hidden behind one of the masks that have become de rigueur since the coronavirus arrived.
“We are just happy to be here,” Rankin said, “because the Easter Bunny didn’t make it.”
Two days before the bunny’s
anticipated visit to the mall in March, Gov. Tom Wolf order the shutdown of all nonessential businesses in the state, including the mall’s stores, she said.
The man in red’s quiet arrival Thursday morning went without a hitch, but contrasted with last year when Santa showed up the day after Thanksgiving and was greeted by a crowd of mall shoppers.
Cherry Hill and mall officials decided on a later arrival and not to promote the big event this year to help avoid spreading COVID-19 through crowd contact, Rankin said.
Unlike some venues, such as Cabela’s in Tilden Township, the mall’s Santa will not sit behind a plexiglass shield or wear a face shield.
“We did a lot of experimentation with photography,” Rankin said. “The plexiglass tends to cause a glare in photographs.”
To avoid close contact between Santa Claus and his visitors and preserve the visit’s picture-perfect quality, a bench for children and their families was placed 6 feet in front of St. Nick’s chair. The bench not only offers a place from which children can whisper their Christmas wishes, said Kala Gorman,
Berkshire Mall’s general manager, it also helps form a visual and physical barricade, separating Santa from the public.
Children cannot touch Santa or come within 6 feet of him, she said, noting masks are required for all, and markers have been placed on the floor to keep those in line to visit Santa safely distanced.
“The worst part (of the pandemic) is these masks,” said Santa, also known as Mike Pollick.
When not residing at the North Pole, Pollick lives in Pottstown. He has been portraying the bearded one for
so long, he said, he can’t remember when he wasn’t Santa.
Pollick said he fears that with much of his friendly countenance hidden behind his mask, children will not be able to read Santa’s welcoming expression and may be frightened.
It saddens Santa that he is unable to interact more closely with the children as in past years, Pollick said. Many children want to sit in Santa’s lap, he said, and the younger ones won’t understand why they can’t.
“They are going to be upset,” he said.
The one thing that doesn’t concern Pollick, though, is
the thought that increased contact with the general public might put him at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
“If I am going to get it, I’m going to get it,” he said.
Not getting to sit on Santa’s lap didn’t seem to bother Vince Mosqueda, 5, and his little sister, Ella, 1. The son and daughter of Amanda and Ignacio Mosqueda of Exeter, the children were the first to visit Santa in the mall Thursday morning.
Amanda said she worried her daughter might be frightened by Santa and would cry, but the little girl smiled contently from the bench.
The phenomenon has
been observed and reported in other small children by Cherry Hill workers in malls that started the Santa season earlier, Rankin said. They suspect that younger children, who are often fearful of sitting in Santa’s lap, feel more comfortable keeping a distance and are less inclined to tears.
Another advantage brought by the coronavirus accommodations, she said, is the ability to schedule a visit with Santa in advance, instead of waiting in lines that can be up to two hours long.
“People seem to like that,” Rankin said. “We can take positives from this.”