FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, June 2, 2020—As an entertainment professional, Lonnie Cooper has performed “every job you can possibly imagine,” including road manager, actor, producer, and elephant sanitation in the Big Apple Circus.

But when he became a Macy’s Santa in 2014, he sat in the most famous Santa chair in the world.

“It’s not a stretch to say it saved my life,” he said.

Lonnie joined the New York City Santas on May 17 as a special guest. The Michigan native and Manhattan resident talked about the store’s identical suits, multiple Santas in multiple houses, the new acceptance of real beards, and David Sedaris’ Santaland Diaries.

What does Lonnie want for Christmas? For Santaland to open this December 2020.

Enjoy the video here.

Upcoming online talks include:

Sunday, June 7, 3 PM: “Meet Timothy Connaghan, also known as ‘National Santa.’” Postponed as of 6/6/20. We will do this one another time.

Sunday, June 14, 3 PM: “Dream It ... Design It, Virtual Visits” with Deanna Golden and Judi Broderick of Santa Nana’s Holiday University. This NYC Santas exclusive is only for Clauses living in the tri-state area or who perform here each season. This brainstorming session gets into the details of what you will actually do during virtual visits. Deanna and Judi will host on WebEx, a platform some families may prefer to Zoom. If you are an NYC Santa, please email nycsantas@gmail.com to register by June 11.

Wednesday, July 1, 3 PM (30 minutes): “Naughty or Nice: NYC Santas Interview a Wall Street Journal Reporter.” Afraid to talk to journalists? Let’s pull out our own pens and notebooks to fire pressing questions at Anne Kadet of the Wall Street Journal. What do reporters look for in a juicy story? How do they create headlines that drive traffic? And how as Clauses can we help out members of the media and feel more comfortable as ourselves while in character? This may be a thorny year for news coverage. Develop confidence in preparation of the “green journalism” days of December. Click here to register.

Stay tuned for late summer and fall discussions about whether or not Santa does magic. Yes, this is a controversial topic. Also, we will try to cover more serious subjects, including how to talk to children and families who’ve lost loved ones during COVID-19.

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