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Show Als The Salt Lake Tribune NATION Sunday, December3, 2000 Mall Super Santas Are Big Business No more amateur St. Nicks; these Kris Kringles study andtrain forthe job KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE ST. PAUL, Minn. — It takes more than a miracle on 34th Street to get Santa into the mall around through long days of sometimesscreaming kids pulling on his au- myheart. thentic beard, taking only occa- tor,” he added,“andthis is as close as I'll be.” Thirty minutes before show- sional breaks. Buthis patience is as long as the lines of children — and adults — whocometo see him. Hestill tears up as he recalls a girl who cameto him two Christ- the holidays. The seamless staging, the au- thentic costuming, the Santas who look just like Santa, are months in the making, about six months, actually, of 18-hour days, seven days a week. mases ago and said her mother was seriously ill; the tears continue as hetalks ofthe children whoask for mittens. Last year, he gave $500 to staff so they could buy gloves and hats, on the spot, for any child who asked for them. “Children shouldn't have to want those type of things for Christmas,”he said. “Itjust breaks “A lot of our year goes into this,” said Judy Noerr,president of Noerr Programs, a Golden, Colo.- based operation that places Santas in malls nationwide. “It's much more complex than people ize. With hundred-plus-page Santa manuals, top digital photographic equipment and thousands of employees trained in customer service, holiday scenes are big business. Reserve yours for Christmas. The-average mall display costs between $200,000 and $500,000, al- While limited though Noerr knows of one-shopping center that spent a cool mil, “T’ve always wanted to be a pas- time, wearing his red velvet suit handcrafted by a_ theatrical costume-maker, Ed Walsh takes his seat at Regis Hair Salon for his a aris theae daily coiffing — his bleached white timeby playing and hair are meticulously Christmas toys at curled for his day as Santa Ed at Maplewood Mall in Maplewood, the St. Louis-based Santa Plus, which jinn. i Four years now, children at Mle teen Maplewood have been sitting on , Santa Ed’s lap, and they will for anotherthree. The retired 3-M em- Santa School classesacross the ployee recently signed another contract. country. PROBLEM: Glasses nowrequired SOLUTION: Sunrise LTK Laser Vision Correction Sil) ae e lion on its North Pole scene. “Malls spend incredible amounts of money on these sets to After you hit 40, you can't see close, you can't see far. . . you can't see anything like you used to, But always reaching for glasses? ‘That's not exactlythe easiest make them something people will really enjoy,” she said. “The whole way toseelife, idea of creating a magical experienceis what people want.It draws them back to the shopping center, Now there's a new solution. It’ called SUNRISE LK, Laser Vision Correction just for you. In only three seconds, without touching your eyes, the SUNRISE LTK Procedure could make dependingonglasses a thing of yourpast. and they don’t even know why.” Andthe Santas, they don’t come cheap; either. An authenticbearded Santa working in a large mall can commandmore than $50 Call today to reserve yourspace at our next educational seminaror call your local optometrist for more information. At Hoopes Vision Correction Center weoffet complimentary one-on-one consultations & screenings for LTK. an hour. And he’s typically got a multiyear contract. The reason: If he’s a superstar, the mall wants to keep him, because “people do shop. . these displays, and they'll tell you it’s not about the money. Santa Dan, who apparently has nolast namebut works therest of the year at Chicago Floralin South Minneapolis, has spent two of his contracted three years at Rosedale. Center in Roseville, Minn. Hesits . "©2000 Sierfa-West. Inc Santas,” Noerr said. But ask anyoneassociated with HOOPES Mision Correction Center “ . ” Christus A porcelainfigurine by Spain's world-famousartisans, Lladré, commemorating the opening of the LDS Temple in Spain. 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