Big group expected locally in August to celebrate 90th anniversary of Santa School
Charles Howard remains revered figure for Santas portrayers
Photos by Tom Rivers: This group recently visited Albion to help plan for the three-day celebration in August when several hundred Santas and other enthusiasts of the Charles W-Howard Santa School will be in town to celebrate the 90thanniversary of the Santa School. From left include DeAnn and Phil Wenz, the Santa Claus for Santa’s Village Theme Park in Dundee, Illinois for 35 years; Jane Holland, granddaughter of Charles Howard; and Chris Parada, a Santa portrayer at the Christmas Cottage in Lockport and general manager of the palace Theater in Lockport. Parada also has owns the New York Santa Claus Suits & Equipment Co., which makes Santa suits in the same style designed by Charles Howard.
ALBION – The Albion community may be doing some double-takes in August when 300 to 400 people, many resembling Santa Claus, are expected to be in town as part of a 90th anniversary celebration for the Charles W. Howard Santa School.
Howard ran the school from 1937 with his last class in 1965. He passed away on May 1, 1966. The school continues in his name, now run by Tom and Holly Valent in Midland, Mich.
The chief organizers of the celebration were in Albion recently to identify sites and create itinerary for the visitors.
This photo shows Charles W. Howard with a Santa at Christmas Park in Albion. Howard operated the Park and a school for Santa Claus in Albion until his death on May 1, 1966.
The three-day celebration will be from Aug. 6-8. Most of the event will be based at the Palace Theater in Lockport, which has 1,100 seats and close access to hotels and lodging. The Palace is also run by Chris Parada, a graduate of the Charles W. Howard Santa School. Parada portrays Santa each Christmas season at Lockport, greeting about 10,000 children annually since 2010.
Parada is teaming up with Phil Wenz, who worked more than 35 years as a professional Santa, more than 200 days a year, at the Santa’s Village Theme Park in Dundee, Illinois. Wenz continues his passion as a historian for the Santa community, and holds a special reverence for Charles Howard and his impact on shaping how Santas should look and act.
Wenz commended the Albion community for embracing the life and lore of Howard, especially since a Santa convention in Albion in 2015. About 200 people attended that event.
Since then, there have been two large-scale murals celebrating Santa and Charles Howard, as well as a bronze statue of Howard as Santa. The State Department of Transportation also put up signs on Route 31 dedicating the section of 31 in Albion as the “Charles W. Howard Memorial Highway.”
Those are all must-see spots for the visitors, Wenz said. He also said Howard’s gravesite at Mount Albion Cemetery and the world’s largest apple pie tin at the 4-H Fairgrounds should be on the list. Howard led the effort to bake the world’s largest apple pie in 1929. That record would be broken, before being set again at the fair in 1977 with a 21,210-pound pie. That enormous pie tin is on display at the fairgrounds.
“This won’t just be Santa oriented,” Parada said about the August event. “It will be a celebration of the community and this area.”
Parada and Wenz will be debuting a theatrical performance that helps tell the story of Charles Howard and his impact, and how he went from being an apple farmer to the Macy’s Santa Claus. He was in the Thanksgiving Day parade from 1948 to 1965, appearing on national television.
Parada said he has already heard from people from Israel, Australia, Canada and many states who want to be part of the celebration and learn more about Howard’s life in Albion.
“This is like the Holy Grail to so many guys,” Parada said about Howard’s hometown. “We’re dealing with people from all over the United States.”
The gathering won’t be a Santa convention like Albion hosted in 2010 and 2015. There won’t be any courses taught on how to portray Santa.
Wenz and Parada said the event will focus on the 90 years of the Santa School, with an opportunity to learn more about Charles Howard and the Albion community.
They urge Albion and Orleans County to try to tie into the event with other promotions and activities to welcome the visitors.
The two also want to help with fundraisers for a museum and welcome center in the works for the Santa School. The Albion Betterment Committee is working on that project at 128 North Main St.
Parada praised the Betterment Committee for taking the lead on the museum and many other projects highlighting Charles Howard and the Santa School.
“It’s about believing in your community and your family,” Parada said. “That’s what Charles Howard was all about.”
