Claus couple returns to Owatonna Arts Center for cocoa, cookies
OWATONNA, Minn. (KEYC) - Not many people have Santa on their minds in the middle of summer, but for Silvan Durben, a warm August day 27 years ago was when he discovered his Santa.
A birthday party at the Owatonna Arts Center for Lonna Lysne brought its creative director face-to-face with Richard Epp, who Durben immediately equated with Saint Nick. Lysne still remembers the encounter.
“I planned my 50th birthday party at the Arts Center with Silvan and I said it’s time to be creative. I decided that I had gone through a divorce and was starting a new life, and I wanted the second half of my life to start off in a creative way, which was that birthday party,” she said. “Rich was there with me because he was part of my new life, and Silvan took one look at him and said he had this marvelous Santa robe and asked if he would try it on. That’s how it all began.”
Lysne said on a good day, Epp stands at a modest 6′6″. Coincidentally, the handmade robe was massive, and wouldn’t readily fit anyone else. When Durben realized the cloak fit perfectly, he immediately asked Epp to be Santa.
“The cloak itself is magnificent,” Durben said. “It’s all hand stitches and it’s simply fabulous, but it is also quite large. I remember seeing Rich for the first time and I just knew he would be perfect.”
Next weekend’s “Cocoa with Santa and Mrs. Claus” event will mark Epp and Lysne’s 27th annual appearance at the center in their respective roles. While Epp visits with the children and families, Lysne plays the piano, sings Christmas carols and reads to attendees young and old.
“Rich just has this way about him that soothes the kids into a comfortable spot,” Lysne said. “He will tell you he’s learned a lot of tricks of the trade along the way to calm nervous kids and parents. There’s a lot that goes into a Santa visit, and he definitely has the magic touch. You can sense it and see it. It’s just love and joy, and that feeling can be captured in the photos.”
After nearly three decades, even Durben admits he sometimes has a hard time separating Epp from Mr. Claus.
“The true spirit of Santa lives in him. It’s a part of him,” says Durben. “All of us believe in the miracle of Christmas, and those conversations between Santa and every individual are very private and very personal. He assures us that the true gift is the gift of love. It isn’t necessarily a gift that we can put our hands around.”
Lysne said it has been a joy to be alongside Epp each year for these events and to see the way the children’s eyes light up when they see Santa, but one thing she especially loves is that they always take place at the Arts Center.
“The Arts Center is like the community’s living room,” Lysne said. “It’s positively one of the best social gathering places in Owatonna, and Silvan makes it extra magical with his Christmas displays every year.”
Durben has acquired dozens of Christmas and holiday inspired decor over the years and he said he looks forward to choosing a theme and decorating each year. The building has seen everything from nutcrackers to rainbow-color unicorns adorning each room of the center, and guests of Santa are encouraged to take a walk through the whole gallery.
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