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lthough he’s never been a mall Santa, local resident Al Jastram has spread Christmas cheer in more ways than you can imagine over his 28 years of portraying good ol’ Kris Kringle. And over the last handful of years, he’s had the help of his wife Kay Jastram as Mrs. Claus and his longtime friend Jim Hagel as their elf. Clowns, Comedy & Christmas
It all started at a science-fiction convention. Or clown school, depending on how you look at it. Al met Hagel at a science-fiction convention back in the mid-‘90s before ending up in clown school together, where they got their start working as a clown duo performing comedy magic shows all over the region. In the meantime, Al had an opportunity through a company he used to work for to occasionally portray Santa Claus. He soon found that he loved doing it and more opportunities arose. About 13 years ago after years of being a solo Santa, Al brought his wife Kay on board as Mrs. Claus and the two became the first Mr. and Mrs. Saint Nick to open the Santa
Al Jastram as Santa
Village at South Fargo's Rheault Farm, in addition to starting their own Christmas act for events and home visits. The couple spent three years working at Rheault Farm before they decided to focus mainly on doing home visits and events. Meanwhile, Al and Hagel were still doing comedy magic shows up until 2008 when Hagel took a break from performing. A couple years back, Al and Hagel reunited their magical comedy act Two Unkles, minus the clown getups, and Hagel also joined the Jastram’s Christmas program as the magical elf. The trio currently spends two weekends each year at a Santa Village in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in addition to doing home
Kay Jastram as Mrs. Claus
Jim Hagel
as The Magic Elf