Nov. 9 headlines: Santa’s glacier at SouthPark mall got an icy reception
Santa Claus came to SouthPark mall last week, and it caused a bit of a stir. You might say he got an icy reception.
Here’s what happened: In an effort to make the Santa-visiting experience “fresh and exciting,” the mall replaced its traditional Christmas tree with a glacier, which included interactive elements like a sound and light show every 30 minutes.
“The reinvented and modernized experience will bring the Charlotte community together in a way that hasn’t been done before,” the mall told the Observer.
It definitely brought the community together, but not in the way the mall intended. By Friday afternoon, someone had created a Change.org petition to bring back the tree. It had more than 24,000 supporters as of late Sunday night.
The reaction on social media wasn’t any better.
Looks like Santa needs a "Fresh and Exciting" space suit to match the new "Glacier Santa" experience at SouthPark. pic.twitter.com/ABJ9Jdb0MY
— Will O'Donoghue (@Will_ODonoghue) November 8, 2015
I want the huge Christmas tree back at the South Park Mall; this glacier thing is just stupid. #BringBackTheTree
— DaveHickman (@DaveHickman) November 7, 2015
Glacier? Looks like Santa is sitting on the deck of the Enterprise. Wonder if his elves will be Klingon or Vulcan… https://t.co/wmnwVFCKrN
— Katharine A. McFalls (@KAMcFalls) November 7, 2015
No, stop with this immediately. SouthPark Mall replaces Christmas Tree with glacier https://t.co/VIPzpsDpE7
— Nick Newcomb (@newcns4) November 6, 2015
Someone even recorded a song about it.
And, of course, someone created a Twitter account for the glacier.
I always get blamed for everything!!! #IDidntRuinChristmas #IWasMindingMyOwnBusinessTheTitanicHitMe
— South Park Glacier (@SPXmasGlacier) November 8, 2015
SouthPark was listening and announced over the weekend that the glacier would come down and the Christmas tree would return. Dismantling began Sunday afternoon.
“It was a mistake, and we had to correct,” Simon Malls President David Contis told the Observer, adding that the change wasn’t intended to be secular. “If we lose money, so be it.”
Glacier at Southpark Mall being removed. It was fun while it lasted. #bringbackthechristmastree pic.twitter.com/g5VJP8B7R1
— April Smith (@ApeSmith) November 8, 2015
#GlobalWarming has hit the #SouthPark #glacier! #glaciergate #BringBackTheTree #firstworldproblems pic.twitter.com/WlCKabbGwi
— Ryan McAward (@McAwkward) November 8, 2015
Tree or no tree, we think it’s too early to be putting up Christmas decorations. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.
In other headlines …
– The Panthers pulled out another Cardiac Cats win, holding off a fourth-quarter Green Bay rally to beat the Packers 37-29 and remain undefeated at 8-0.
– Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has been shedding school librarians faster than any district in North Carolina over the past five years, and there’s a debate going on about whether that makes a difference for students.
– A worn and broken lock on a prisoner transport van “vibrated into the unlock position” on Friday, the Lincoln county Sheriff’s Office said, allowing two inmates to escape. It didn’t last long, though. They were caught an hour later just two blocks away.
– Charlotte developer Lincoln Harris is joining Cato Corp. in a major redevelopment of the former Charlotte Knights stadium site in York County, S.C., which could include millions of square feet of office space and hundreds of dwellings.
– Triple C Brewing signed a lease for a 10,000-square-foot space next to its current location to expand its footprint by 50 percent. Details and photos are over at the Charlotte Business Journal.
– Drone-shot photos and videos have rapidly become a mainstay of real estate marketing, mostly because they’re cheaper and easier to produce than traditional aerial photography.
Photo: Charlotte Observer file.
This story was originally published November 8, 2015 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Nov. 9 headlines: Santa’s glacier at SouthPark mall got an icy reception."