By KEN CARPENTER
Great Bend Post
GREAT BEND — The "Santas Around the World" exhibit on Main Street in downtown Great Bend has become a Christmas tradition in the Golden Belt. But many people may not know that all 24 of the life-sized Santas were sculpted by one woman, Loretta Miller.
Miller created the first multi-cultural Santa 22 years ago when she was contacted to make one by the Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau. According to Michael Dawes, director of public relations at Rosewood Services, she constructed 23 more during the next six years.
“Loretta has done all the Santas. She’s done all the accessory pieces for the Santas,” Dawes said. “So everything you see representing their native heritage is her doing as the artist.”
The Santas were originally commissioned by retail stores in Great Bend. Dawes explained how the decision was made to move them from the stores and put them all at the same location.
"As time passed and as the Santas went into the stores, and then they got removed in the off-season, it’s a little hard on the Santas to move them back and forth,” Dawes recalled. “They would have to be repaired each year. It was just very time-intensive to do that."
The Santas were eventually donated to the Rosewood Roots & Wings Foundation. They were placed in their current home at 1223 Main Street eight years ago.
Dawes said people are often amazed with what they see when they visit the exhibit.
“For a lot of people not knowing that there are so many similar types of storylines for individuals that represent other parts of the world for Santa Claus or Santas, it’s a learning experience for them,” Dawes commented. “It’s educational as well as artistry all in one place.”
The "Santas Around The World” display is open 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays and from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 24. There is no charge to see the exhibit. And Santa Claus is there to visit with children and adults.