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www.sunsetgrill.com 584Weber St. N & Northfield Dr. NOW OPEN inWaterloo! Breakfast & Lunch Fast Take-Out Service Available Open 7 days a week ® Chronicle.WATERLOO $1.00 CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA Youth centre looking for support in helping to change local kids' lives Page 13 CITY LIFE Sounds of Christmas variety show close to reaching major milestone Page 21 ARTS FOCUS THURSDAY November 16, 2017 SOS put out for Santa Local man who has played Santa for 45 years getting help from GoFund- Me campaign after freak injury By Bob Vrbanac Chronicle Staff A man who has played Santa for more than 45 years is looking for a little help himself this Christmas as a freak accident has him hanging up his red suit for the season. Local magician and children's entertainer Gerard Diet- rich, also known as The Great Gerard, has taken on the role of one of Santa's helpers for more than four decades. He is a well-known mall Santa who helps create holiday magic at Conestoga Mall, Stanley Park Mall and the Galleria Mall in London, Ont., listening to the Christmas wishes of local chil- dren. He estimated he's heard from tens of thousands of kids over the years, and on a busy day at the Conestoga mall he said he'd easily hear the Christmas wish list of more than 400 children. "I created a magical Santa Claus," said Dietrich, as his character always has a quip or something memorable to leave children with from the experience. "I must have done a good job because they always seemed to want to have the same Santa back. "The best part of playing Santa is making people happy and giving them a couple of good one liners or jokes they would remember." But he also learned a little Christmas magic from the kids over the years. There was the year he got a surprise wish from one little girl. "She was in line bouncing in and out and up and down," said Dietrich. "She finally got up to the front of the line and I asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She looked me right in the eye and said, 'I want to marry you.' "When I asked her why she wanted to marry Santa, she said, "You've got everything I want." He's also seen the kids who are abused and looking for a Submitted photo mall Santa Gerard dietrich broke his hip recently and won't be able to don the red suit this Christmas. little comfort from something good in their life. "All they want is a safe space," said Dietrich. Then there was the shy little girl who just wouldn't let go of Santa's leg. She just kept hang- ing on during the whole party. "I said, 'I know what you want for Christmas but there is something special that you aren't tell- ing me,'" said Dietrich. "She said, 'Can you make my mommy well, she's got cancer.'" Continued on page 10 Visit us online at www.waterloochronicle.ca ® Chronicle.WATERLOO $1.00 CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA From the latest information on local politics, to minor sports scores and what's going on down the street, get it all online. CURRENT. COMMUNITY. CONNECTED www.waterloochronicle.ca