Bellingham Duo Don Santa and Mrs. Claus Costumes During the Holidays, Clown Around the Rest of the Year

Santa and Mrs. Clause
Meet Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Holiday Port Festival on December 2, 3 and 4. Photo credit: Mark Turner | TurnerPhotographics.com.
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Zig Zag & Ragz
Cameron and Alyse met in Pennsylvania before moving to Whatcom County, and then marrying in 1997. Photo courtesy: Cameron Stewart.

Cameron Stewart and Alyse Axford don’t live double lives — they live triple ones.

By day, Cameron works as the production manager at Speedy Automated Mailers and Alyse is a certified Zumba and Zumba Kids & Zumba Kids Jr. instructor who volunteers at the Bellingham branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County.

But throughout the year, the duo performs as clowns under the moniker Zig Zag and Ragz Z Clowns — and come holiday season, Santa and Mrs. Claus also come out to play.

So, which came first?

“The clowns,” Cameron says with a laugh. He took his first clown class back in 1987, in Pennsylvania, when his then-wife suggested it. “She signed me up for an adult evening class because I was a truck driver and licensed gun dealer, and she thought I needed to do something fun.”

Cameron and Alyse would eventually meet at a North Penn Clown Alley meeting, ultimately move to Whatcom County, and marry in 1997 in a clown-themed wedding on Friday Harbor, broadcast live on 92.9 KISM.

Alyse was drawn to an adult evening clown class through a desire to learn more about the differences between American and European clowns. The instructor taught several styles: whiteface, Auguste, character, hobo and tramp.

Zig Zag & Ragz
Zig Zag & Ragz make appearances at parties, corporate events, and more. Photo courtesy: Cameron Stewart.

“I’m an Auguste clown,” Alyse says, when describing her Zig Zag character. “It shows the flesh tone and is German for ‘silly.’”

The couple’s clown club volunteered at nursing homes, hospitals and a variety of charities.

“That’s where we got our feet wet,” says Alyse, “going out as a group and learning the ropes.”

Nowadays, you find Zig Zag (Alyse) and Ragz (Cameron) entertaining at parties, corporate events and the occasional festival. Their events include balloon creations, face painting, silly magic tricks and much more.

Clowning is serious business for this couple, members of Clowns of America International and the World Clown Association, who have continued their education under numerous professionals and organizations.

Santa Claus came along a bit later.

“I developed Santa Claus first because of the beard and everything,” says Cameron, who has long had a real beard (albeit shorter than Santa’s) and long, mostly gray hair. He began by doing video Santa jobs, speaking to kids around the world via computer.

“I always said to him, ‘Whenever you want a Mrs. Claus, I’ll be there,’” Alyse says with a laugh.

Santa and Mrs. Clause
Photographer Mark Turner will take photos of children with Santa again this year at the Holiday Port Festival. Photo credit: Mark Turner | TurnerPhotographics.com.

One of Cameron’s first Santa gigs was playing the Jolly Old Elf at the Port of Bellingham’s Holiday Port Festival, which he and Alyse have now been attending in costume for several years, working with Mark Turner of Turner Photographics.

“You have to have thick skin to do it,” Cameron says, recalling the many heart-wrenching questions he hears, such as: Can you bring my Daddy home for Christmas?

Cameron is quick with a stock answer for the tough requests: “I’ll see what my elves can do.”

Alyse’s role is to find out the children’s names, and then direct them to Cameron for a chat and photo.

“When they’re done, I give them a candy cane and sticker,” she explains. “I’m there to make sure everything’s flowing right.”

The couple sees hundreds of children every year.

“There’s one family that has been back every year, so we’re watching those kids grow up,” Cameron says. “And we see generations. I’ve got a collection of Christmas lists I’ve saved over the years.”

Santa and Mrs. Claus also go to people’s homes and make other private visits. As they’ve become busier locally, Cameron has done less video work. “Last year we got so busy that I only spent 20 to 30 hours doing video Santa, as opposed to over 60 hours the year before.”

Whether it’s in their roles as clowns or the Claus couple, Cameron and Alyse always take the soft approach.

A favorite story of Cameron’s involves Zig Zag and Ragz surprising a family with young kids for a party in Anacortes. All the children hid behind the Mom’s skirt.

Santa and Mrs. Clause
Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be on hand again this year at the Holiday Port Festival. Photo credit: Mark Turner | TurnerPhotographics.com.

“We set up and I started making balloons,” Cameron recounts. “One by one, slowly, the kids started coming to us. That’s how education works; they will come to you eventually.”

“We don’t come in yelling,” says Alyse.

Cameron describes a recent television commercial for Walmart, which includes a clown laughing and screaming in a person’s face. He looks personally affronted at the memory.

“No, no,” he says. “I’ve had people who have said, ‘Hey, I want you to come over and scare my friend.’ Nope, not doing it — that’s not our job.”

Cameron approaches Santa Claus the same gentle way. “If I’m sitting down at their level, I’m not scary,” he says. “And Mrs. Claus isn’t scary at all.”

A favorite moment in all their years of entertaining children young and old took place last year around Christmastime, when they were asked to visit a young boy who was dying.

“The parents and caretaker, the sister was there, nobody was bedridden,” Alyse remembers. “Everyone was up and in a good mood.”

Santa and Mrs. Claus got him to smile and presented him with a bevy of gifts. “We had them in our bags, and we just brought them out, gift after gift after gift,” she continues.

“It was one of his better days,” Cameron says, smiling at the memory. “A friend of the family contacted us and we did it for no cost. We went and made somebody happy.”

Santa and Mrs. Clause
Meet Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Holiday Port Festival on December 4, 5 and 6. Photo credit: Mark Turner | TurnerPhotographics.com.

The couple has often worked with terminally ill children. Rather than focus on how hard a situation is, they find the fun and lighten the mood.

“You go in there and know you’re going to do something fun and you see the smile and you just go with that,” Cameron says. “It’s all about being in the moment. They’re happy, having a good time, and so are we.”

Check out the Zig Zag and Ragz Z Clowns Facebook page for more information about both their clown and Claus events, and to see examples of their balloon creations.

 

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