By Stephen Weir
When you run into Kente Claus at a celebration or a fundraiser earlier than Christmas and he asks what you need below the tree, inform him a Double-Double and a bag of Tim Bits and chances are you’ll simply get your want, supplied there’s a Tim Hortons shut by.
DeWitt Lee, a Toronto businessman and long-time group volunteer and supporter of worthwhile causes right here within the metropolis, the Caribbean, and Buffalo, NY, has a not-so-well-kept secret: he’s Kente Claus!
Due to a brand new Tim Horton’s 30-second TV business, Lee might be changing into the best-known Black Santa Claus within the nation.
“It’s working all month,” he advised the Caribbean Digicam yesterday. “I’m the 2023 Tim Hortons Christmas Claus!”
The spot isn’t pushing a product; it’s a excellent news commercial for Christmas. Kente Claus has a giant position within the advert as viewers are requested, “The place do you consider Santa’s magic comes from?” Spoiler alert: the reply is, “Possibly Santa magic isn’t magic in any respect. Possibly it’s the kindness inside every of us, and that’s one thing all of us can consider in! Comfortable holidays from Tim Horton.”
As Kente Claus, Dewitt brings an Afro-Caribbean presence to his position as a volunteer Santa. Even his custom-made go well with, lined with Kente Fabric from Ghana, tells a narrative and displays his African origin. He fuses Christmas pleasure, African proverbs, Caribbean folklore, and Biblical references into the unique Christmas story that connects Ghana, Bethlehem, and Egypt. He assumes the position because the chief pleasure distribution officer for the Claus Company, whose job is to ship toys to kids within the Caribbean and Africa.
Dewitt, or ought to we are saying Kente Claus, has been seen across the GTA for a few years. He was at Sunday’s Santa Claus Parade, greeting children on the nook of Bathurst and Bloor Avenue for the seventh yr in a row. Since his shock parade look, Kente has been stored as busy as Santa’s elves.
Catch his subsequent look on Sunday, December third, at Ajax’s HOLIDAY POP-UP MARKET. Kente Claus will probably be in the home from 2 pm to 4 pm. When you can’t make it to any of Kente’s upcoming occasions, simply activate the TV—Kente’s coming to city on nearly each Canadian tv channel from now till the large evening.