Tennessee Media Reports Default of Celebrate Santa

Local media in Gatlinburg, Tennessee are reporting that the promised payments by Celebrate Santa to cover costs of two years worth of Claus-related conventions has not been made. WBIR-TV and the Mountain Press both report of the default by Joe and Mary Moore of the promissory note they provided in March as news of the fiasco surfaced. According to those reports, the Moores owe “tens of thousands of dollars” for the events.

In the reports, Joe Moore claims the public complaints by the City of Gatlinburg are the reason why no money has been paid, preventing him from securing new sponsors for future events.

“They basically shot themselves and us in the foot,” Moore said in a phone conversation with The Mountain Press. “They said some pretty bad things about us and made it really difficult for us.” (This being said long after Moore announced in March that he was moving the next convention to another city).

Insiders from Celebrate Santa 2009 and 2010 report the receipt of “hundreds of thousands” of dollars by the Moores from the sales of sponsorships and registrations. Several vendors outside of the City of Gatlinburg have also come forward to report they have not been paid either. There has been no accounting of funds received or costs generated by the events.

Over the course of a year this story has been documented while the Santa community debated how the very public fiasco affects the image of Santa Claus and potential such news has for anyone doing business as a Santa.