There's a New Santa in Town!

By C.J. Hirschfield

A security guard for the Raiders. A longtime home healthcare attendant for a senior with Altzheimer’s. A volunteer at Children’s Fairyland for 14 years.

Eric Martin is all of the above, and we could not be more excited about his debut this Friday, the first day of our Fairy Winterland, as the park’s official St. Nick. His life experiences have taught him what it takes to excel in the position.

Eric Martin as Santa.

When Fairyland’s longtime Santa Claus, Ron Zeno, died earlier this year, we took the time to grieve and to celebrate his life. But as we mourned Ron we also knew that we’d have to choose a new Santa. 

The thought was daunting, to say the least. Hundreds of kids count on us. Ron’s Santa was warm, loving and respectful of the kids. He believed unconditionally in the power of peace and love to change the world, a belief he exuded during our holiday celebration. And he absolutely loved Children’s Fairyland and all that we stand for.

Ron was also African American, and we knew that a black Santa was something of a rarity – and meaningful to many families.

Finding a new Santa who exemplified what we consider to be Fairylandish qualities—sincerity, warmth, compassion, empathy and joy – was key. We ultimately realized that such a person was in our midst: our stellar volunteer, Eric Martin. 

Eric’s father brought him to Fairyland when he was 7. Forty-five years later he still remembers how wonderful the park’s Magic Key was to him. “This is where I found that make-believe is fun,” he says.

His first volunteer assignment at Fairyland as an adult was serving cocoa and cider to families during Fairy Winterland. He was hooked. “Kids still have an innocence,” he told me. “As adults, we need to let go and just be kids again.”

For the last five years, Eric has played the role of a pirate at our Jack o’Lantern Jamboree Pirates’ School. His favorite part of the job, he says, is tossing gold coins into the sand by our pirate ship and watching the kids happily scramble for the loot. He assures nervous parents not to worry about their kids climbing too high on the ship. “They’re in good hands,” he tells them.

Eric (right) as a pirate at Jack o'Lantern Jamboree.

Which is a nice segue to Eric’s career as a security professional, something he has been doing since he was 15. He’s the dapper gatekeeper at the Oakland Raiders’ training facility in Alameda, at San Francisco’s annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival and at the home of one of the area’s wealthiest families. He claims to have handled “about 1,000” confrontations. Along the way he’s learned several things: You have to bring some comfort to the situation. You have to be aware. You have to learn how to read and treat people, to diffuse the situation, to put a person at ease. And most of all: “You gotta talk.”

“I guess I’m a natural born psychologist,” Eric says, laughing.

Eric at work at the Oakland Raiders training facility.

He’s also served as an in-home caregiver for his grandmother, his mother and now his father. For four years he had to put his life on hold to take care of relatives. “It was a difficult period,” he says, but he doesn’t regret it. “I’m the best caregiver in the world,” he told me, adding with a Santa-like twinkle: “You’re not a real man until you’ve changed your mother’s diapers.”

Eric stepped in for Ron as Santa two years ago for just three days. He learned a lot in that short time, including how to read the nonverbal cues of a wide range of kids. He was surprised at the sheer number of kids lining up to meet him, and at the “10,000 flashes” of photos that were taken by parents for posterity.

To prepare for his new role, Eric was coached by a longtime Bay Area Santa. Not surprisingly, he intuitively knew most of the tips already. He’s jolly. He’s able to communicate well with each child. And he’s used to playing a role – not just a pirate but also the Easter Bunny at Fairyland. Still, he says, “Santa is definitely the most important character.”

You may be surprised to learn that Fairyland gets about a dozen calls a day during the holiday season from parents who want to know if we have a black Santa, and who express their appreciation when we tell them yes.

The fact that our new Santa is also a compassionate, caring people-person who loves kids and Fairyland makes us very happy. “Ron Zeno was a legend,” says Eric. “I hope I can live up to the legend.”

Join us at Fairy Winterland, where Santa will be welcoming visitors at Fairyland daily, from Dec. 15 through Dec. 23, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., and leading a parade at 6:15.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 15 years as executive director of Children's Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation's first storybook theme park.