TIM HORTON BRINGS KENTE CLAUS ON BOARD FOR TV ADS

Don’t be shocked when you get Tim Bits in your stocking this year

If you run into Kente Claus at a party or a fundraiser before Christmas and he asks what you want under the tree, tell him a Double-Double and a bag of Tim Bits and you may just get your wish, provided there is a Tims close by.

DeWitt Lee, a Toronto businessman and long-time community volunteer and supporter of worthwhile causes here in the city, the Caribbean, and Buffalo, NY, has a not-so-well-kept secret: he is Kente Claus! Kente Claus, thanks to a new Tim Horton’s 30-second TV commercial, is probably becoming the best-known Black Santa Claus in the country.

“It's running all month,” he told the Caribbean Camera yesterday. “I'm the 2023 Tim Hortons Christmas Claus!”

The spot isn't pushing a product; it is a good news advertisement for Christmas. Kente Claus has a big role in the ad as viewers are asked, “Where do you believe Santa's magic comes from?” Spoiler alert: the answer is, “Maybe Santa magic isn't magic at all. Maybe it's the kindness within each of us, and that's something we all can believe in! Happy holidays from Tim Horton.”

As Kente Claus, Dewitt brings an Afro-Caribbean presence to his role as a volunteer Santa. Even his custom suit, lined with Kente Cloth from Ghana, tells a story and reflects his African origin. He fuses Christmas joy, African proverbs, Caribbean folklore, and Biblical references into the original Christmas story that spans across Ghana, Bethlehem, and Egypt. He assumes the role as the chief joy distribution officer for the Claus Corporation, whose job is to send toys to children in the Caribbean and Africa.

Dewitt, or should we say Kente Claus, has been seen around the GTA for many years. He was at Sunday’s Santa Claus Parade, greeting kids at the corner of Bathurst and Bloor Street for the 7th year in a row. The Toronto Star took a picture of KC and ran it in Monday’s paper. That picture and the TV is now keeping the real Dewitt Lee as busy as a Timmie’s line-up taking gift orders from kids and answering the phone and emails non-stop—everyone, it seems, wants a piece of the Black Santa.

Pictured are moments from a recent toy drive that he took part in with the NDC Canada Chapter to send gifts this year to children in Grenada, Carriacou, and Petite Martinique. With him is Stacy “Destiny” Savary “Holly,” Kente’s director of Happiness.

Catch his next appearance on Sunday, December 3rd, at Ajax's HOLIDAY POP-UP MARKET. Kente Claus will be in the house from 2 pm to 4 pm. If you can't make it to any of Kente's upcoming events, just turn on the TV—Kente's coming to town on just about every Canadian television channel from now until the big night.