Santas from up and down East Coast converge on Rehoboth
Santas from up and down the East Coast parked their sleighs in Rehoboth Beach for a weekend of camaraderie, continuing education and toy collecting as part of the recently held Santa “Shell”abration.
Hosted by the Believable Foundation and Delmarva Santas, the weekend-long event, March 8-10, took place at the Atlantic Sands Hotel. Nearly 100 men and women, from Maine to Georgia, participated. Most of the attendees were Santa Claus or Mrs. Claus, but there were other Christmas-themed characters too, including the Grinch, Martha May Whovier and elves.
Brian Marchetti, Wendy Leonard and Mark Nettleship, veterans of the Christmas character community, founded the Believable Foundation in 2019 as a way for Santas to give back to the community on a year-round basis.
Marchetti said it’s important to bring Santa Clauses together because they’re often out there in the public working on their own, without the opportunity to see how others are doing it. There’s a strict rule that there can’t be two Santas in the same location, so this gives the Santas a chance to talk with each other, Marchetti said.
This is an opportunity to help the Christmas character community grow and continue to support initiatives, said Leonard, who describes those in attendance as brothers and sisters in red.
Leonard said one of the foundation’s most popular programs is making cheerful pillowcases for pediatric hospitals. Estimating they’ve delivered more than 10,000 pillowcases, she said hospital stays for children can be traumatic, and these pillowcases can help bring a sense of comfort.
The Santas in attendance participated in continuing education – creative card making and paper crafts; a question-and-answer session on taxes; how the image of Santa Claus has evolved; beard maintenance; sensory awareness for special needs children; transitioning from a seasonal gig to one that’s year-round; and general roundtable discussions.
There was also a toy drive to fill a sleigh.
Marchetti said the first “Shell”abration was held last year in Cape Cod, Mass. There was an expectation that $500 worth of toys would be collected, but the haul ended up being worth more than $2,500.
“You know how it goes, though; when you tell a Santa to bring a present, they bring three,” said Marchetti.
For more information on the Believable Foundation, go to believablefoundation.org or email info@believablefoundation.org.
