City officials are asking the Teresina Larizza Charities Foundation to remove Santa’s House from Victoria Park in London, Ont. by April 9, pending an upcoming summer festival season.
Despite the request, Leo Larizza, founder of the TLC Foundation, said he is worried the house can’t take another move.
“We’ve had an agreement with the city that we put Santa’s House in Victoria Park and every year we have to dismantle it, which is a lot of work, and then bring it back seven months later,” Larizza said.
“We’ve been in negotiations with the city for the last year and a half to say we can’t do this anymore. The house has gone through too many moves. It’s structurally getting damaged every time we move it, plus the work that’s involved to move it is a lot.”
Scott Stafford, London’s director of parks and forestry, said that while the house was able to stay in the park the last few years, festival season is returning and quickly approaching.
“We haven’t had events over the last couple of years because of the COVID restrictions,” Stafford said. “We’re expecting the event season to be up and running in full force. The first event comes around April 22.”
The April 9 deadline is to allow the city to get the land repaired and prepped for the upcoming event, but Larizza said the deadline is too soon and is hoping for an alternative option.
“We came up with four solutions to solve this problem and keep Santa’s House a tradition,” Larizza said.
“Remember, it’s raised half a million dollars for kids in our community, as well as it has provided a service to the City of London by allowing kids to come in a safe environment to get their pictures done with Santa. We thought we can’t just give up and tear it down and that’s the end of Santa’s House. We felt maybe there could be some negotiations, but I guess they don’t really want to negotiate at this point in time.”
Larizza suggested Storybook Gardens or another spot within the park could be a new home.
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“I have done developments with my friend who’s a developer, who’s going to build a structure we would just use in November and December and then they would use it the rest of the season. People were willing to give up their time, materials to build a structure that’s permanent. To build a structure now that is moveable, we don’t feel that would have the same effect.”
Ward 2 Coun Shawn Lewis supports finding a new home, but it must be moved out of Victoria Park.
“Victoria Park was not intended to be a permanent year-round location for this structure,” Lewis said.
“While I’m open to helping them provide a storage location in the offseason, or even a more permanent year-round home, the comments about how the structure can’t continue to be moved because it is wearing out speaks to the temporary nature of the structure itself and why permanency in the park is not appropriate. The nature of uses during other seasons doesn’t fit with keeping this in the park year-round either.”
“It takes a lot of work,” Larizza said.
“The inside has to be all taken apart — electrical, all the walls have to come down. Then we have to get Cameron Crane. They’ve been great. They come out and help, but they can’t just drop on a dime and say, ‘We’ll be there tomorrow.’ They’re busy people, everybody’s behind.”
Similar to Lewis, Ward 13 Coun John Fyfe-Millar supports finding a new home for the house.
“I’m not saying it has to come out of Victoria Park, but I am saying it has to be moved from its current location if it’s going to remain someplace permanently,” Fyfe-Millar said.
He added official talks just began about a new home for the house on March 28. There is no agreed-upon solution on where the house will go yet, but Fyfe-Millar said if TLC cannot meet the April 9 deadline, everything is negotiable.
“The goal here isn’t to end something. The goal is to find a suitable location so that it can continue. If we’re saying that the house isn’t suitable to be put up and taken down every year, which was the original plan for the house, I fully understand that. I think there are a lot of different avenues that we can look at.”
Fyfe-Millar said this tradition needs to live on within London.
“I think it has become iconic in downtown. It’s a place that all kinds of families come to and because of that, it’s important that we continue the tradition. Where that tradition is, is yet to be decided,” Fyfe-Millar said.
“It’s not just about the charity anymore,” Larizza said.
“The house has been a magical house. It’s brought so much joy to so many people. And we’re raising money for kids in our community.”
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