Santa Joe Goes to Washington

Not sure when the last time a local Santa was invited to be the guest of honor at the tree lighting ceremony in Washington DC—maybe never—maybe a long time ago—but whenever it was, the southwest suburban area can be proud to say its own Santa Joe is the featured guest this year at the nation’s capital.

Santa Joe Murphy, a member of the Board of Trustees at Moraine Valley Community College, along with his endeared seasonal partner, Lori Campione, both of Blue Island, spent two memorable days enjoying the opportunity to spread holiday cheer across the country—and around the world.

The two were the official Santa and Mrs. Claus for the National Tree Lighting Ceremony at President’s Park near the White House. The event, sponsored by the National Park Foundation, was filmed Nov. 30, and will air tomorrow (Dec. 15) on CBS.

If Murphy or Campione, both of whom have delighted people all around the southwest suburbs each year, rolled up their sleeves right now, they probably wouldn’t be surprised if they found their arms slightly bruised.

“We were asking ourselves if this was real and saying pinch me to make sure it’s not a dream,” Campione said. “And we just kept pinching each other over and over.”

It may have been a dream job—but it wasn’t a dream.

Murphy said he wasn’t sure what to expect when he received an invitation to partake in the event. “We went out with no idea of how they were going to use us,” he said. “I didn’t care if it was just to clean up reindeer poop. I guess I was really assuming we would be background decorations for the others. I mean, two of the headliners were Dionne Warwick and Joe Walsh. We were in awe just to be there,” he said.

The first day Murphy and Campione were included in the creation of supplemental footage. “We had to do a lot of what they called ‘camera action’ like smiling and waving as they filmed us,” Campione said.

The duo was treated like royalty, including having an assistant along with people to do hair and makeup. “When we got into the green room, John, the photographer told us to just be ourselves and do what we do. He said, ‘I’m going to shoot footage of you mingling with the talent Pretend I’m not here.’ We were like, ‘Oh, my gosh, we have our own photographer.’, Campione said.

Murphy and Campione, who accompanies Murphy when the event calls for Mrs. Claus, are used to getting a lot of attention, but in this case, it was beyond anything they have experienced.

“We were starstruck,” Murphy said. “We had the stars coming up to us, saying ‘Oh, Santa, Mrs. Claus, do you mind if I get a selfie with you? Or can my photographer take a photo?’ I mean, they had an entourage and they're asking our photographer to take a picture with us. It was unbelievable.”

Both concurred the day of the ceremony was spectacular, starting with being interviewed by the hosts from the CBS local affiliate. Shortly after, a woman from a television station in Germany approached them for an interview.

Another highlight for Murphy was the opportunity to meet and take pictures with Darren Criss, singer, songwriter, and actor who appeared on Glee for several seasons—and who happens to have a big fan in Murphy’s daughter, Cara.

“We went up to him and he says of course he’ll take a picture with us. Then he made a video for Cara and in it he says ‘I understand you’ve watched Glee hundreds of times. Thank you for being one of my biggest fans.’ Later in the evening he tells us we are just the cutest and that he wrote a song called Christmas Dance and he showed us the video,” Murphy said. “We said we could do that so asked if we would and he taped us dancing. We’re not sure what he’s going to do with it, but it was a lot of fun.”

Murphy and Campione have been a seasonal duo for several years bringing joy to thousands of all ages. One of the first times they worked together was at Wandering Wishes Boutique in Palos Heights, owned by former Moraine Valley student trustee Amy Paladin.

Among their guiding principles is to always remain in character—something they did with ease while at the nation’s capital.

“When we are asked where we come from, we say the North Pole. People ask us if we are married and we say, ‘Of course, for hundreds of years.’ We even get asked what nationality we are, and we say we’re North Polish,” Campione said. “When grownups tell us they like our costumes. We say, ‘What costumes? This is what we wear when we’re stepping out somewhere nice.’ Everything we say we are in character, never Joe or Lori. Santa and Mrs. Claus the entire time.”

Now that Murphy is retired from his job with a local high school district he has more time to devote to his favorite job of all. Campione is a kindergarten teacher and that is a big help, Murphy says. “You know how talkative I am, but I don’t say a word sometimes because no matter where we go she’s got the kids entranced. She knows all about Transformers and American Dolls and everything about the latest things kids are into because she’s with them eight hours a day.”

This holiday season is a busy one for them as they are at the prestigious Peninsula Hotel in Chicago every weekend until January. They also were invited to a Dec. 10 Disney corporate party for families at the Fifth Third Arena, where the Chicago Blackhawks practice. Plus, one of the guests who rented The Peninsula penthouse for the Magnificent Mile Light Parade in November hired him and Mrs. Claus to be at the party for his children and grandchildren.

After making a jolly impression on Darren Criss, he and Mrs. Claus were invited to participate in Criss' "A Very Darren Crissmas" sold-out concert on Dec. 11 at the Athenaeum Theater in Chicago. The two walked onto the stage to thundering applause from the crowd and even had a chance to perform the beloved "Christmas Dance" with a talented group of local dancers.

And they were invited to make a special appearance at a corporate Christmas party hosted at the Field Museum. All this, in addition to the multitude of appearances at local businesses and events throughout the southwest suburbs—and in many cases beyond.

Murphy is on cloud-9 with all he’s been doing in character, but he does have one more special aspiration. He’d love to be in a movie. Not just any movie.

“I'd love to be in a Hallmark Christmas movie. What Santa Claus wouldn’t?" he said with a hardy ho-ho-ho.