There were many honks of approval as Santa Claus made a surprise appearance in the city for a few hours Saturday morning. The jolly old elf stood in the middle of the St. Albert Centre footbridge and waved with messages of 'Love' and 'Hope' on a placard to a noticeably lighter volume of weekend traffic.
Those two messages, he guessed, would be welcomed by one and all during these troubled times.
"I could just feel the pain and the anguish in people's hearts. I thought, you know what, it's time for Santa Claus to make a special visit just to hopefully inspire and encourage those folks to know that this is not going to be forever. It'll be over one day soon," he said.
Santa wanted everyone to keep peace and joy warm in their hearts, and added that his own heart was warm too. He noted that his rosy red outfit has a really good thermal rating.
One person even brought him a mug of hot chocolate, just for good measure. Santa, keeping good physical distancing practices, asked for it to be left on the ground before the friend moved back to give him space.
"I think many people understand the rule nowadays. They're gracious and very loving."
Santa usually only appears at the location just before Christmas itself. He expects to keep up his schedule again this coming December.
