Christmas magic: Lakeside resident spreads cheer with elf character

Every holiday season, Lakeside resident Micah Riendeau heads to Coeur d’Alene to transform into Silver Belle as part of the annual North Pole Cruises. 

26-year-old Riendeau stays in Idaho for about 50 days during her seasonal tenure as the bubbly elf whose main job is taking care of Santa’s reindeer.  

“She loves having adventures. She can be a little mischievous at times, but it’s all in good fun, of course,” Riendeau said.  

Silver Belle is always excited to meet new people and help them get up to the North Pole to meet Santa Claus during the Journey to the North Pole cruises, which take place every holiday season on Lake Coeur d'Alene. The cruise shows off artisan-crafted displays throughout the lake, featuring 1.5 million sparkling lights and a beaming 60-foot Christmas tree.

She's one of Santa’s helpers who are there to make sure everyone has fun, and as a performer, Riendeau said engaging kids with fantastical stories is one of the best parts of her job. 

“You see the kids' eyes light up when you're telling these elaborate stories that are all magical and whimsical, and they truly believe that the story is real. Sometimes I feel I get so into it. It's like, ‘Yes, I was really flying in Santa's sleigh, and we broke our present delivering record,’” she said. 

This is Riendeau’s seventh season, creating Christmas magic as Silver Belle. A lifelong lover of the performing arts, she auditioned for a part in the cast on a whim. After landing, she spent a lot of time creating the character of Silver Belle and making her world real. 

“Essentially, you're creating this whole other person, but it's also yourself, if that makes sense. I had to come up with this huge backstory that was believable but whimsical. How does she act, how does she behave? What does she like, what does she not like? Does she have a family? What is her job? All these things. I got really in depth with it over the years, and that's initially kind of what led to the book,” Riendeau said.  

Riendeau has turned Silver Belle into the star of her first book “Silver Belle and the Christmas Cookie Caper.” It follows its heroine as she steps into her older sister’s role at the North Pole bakery, where she suddenly finds the mains parts of Santa’s surprise party are missing.  

It’s also interactive, featuring some challenging “I Spy” elements and coloring pages in the back. There’s also a gingerbread recipe directly from the kitchen of Mrs. Claus (or Riendeau’s grandmother). 

Her inspiration for Silver Belle just kept building — through years of telling stories and answering questions from children, she had created a full world for her character.  
She started writing it all down, which eventually turned into the plot for the “Christmas Cookie Caper.” Next, she found illustrator Frank Bowman, who she said perfectly captured the elf and “did a fantastic job with the likeness.” 

She published the book through Scott Publishing in Kalispell.  

“The next steps were working with the publisher to get everything formatted, and that was a lot more complicated than I thought it was going to be. But fortunately, they are professionals, and they were very helpful,” Riendeau said. “The moment when I first got the book in my hands — I don't really think I can describe it in words.” 

The book is available for purchase at The Bookshelf in Kalispell and the Well-Read Moose in Coeur d’Alene and online at scottpublishingcompany.com and amazon.com.  

RIENDEAU CONTINUES to tell tales about Silver Belle and her many siblings on the North Pole Cruises, where she is still amazed by the on-the-water light displays. There’s a lot of effort that goes into the annual tradition, with 10,000-man hours that go into putting up the lights in downtown Coeur d’Alene, she said.  

From her fellow castmates to the boat crew and everyone in between, Riendeau said she’s had an amazing time performing in the iconic Christmas show every year. It’s an event people travel from near and far to take part in, so it’s important to her that they have a good time.  

“It's one of the greatest feelings in the world. It’s really hard to describe the feeling of seeing that magic, that belief and wonder in the kids, unless you're experiencing it firsthand,” Riendeau said. “I've had parents come up and hug me at the end of shows and say ‘thank you.’ Some people save up all year to come do this for their kids.”   

There’s some real Christmas magic in spreading joy for everyone, no matter their circumstances. Riendeau is grateful to play a part in it and to be able to create some magic of her own.  

“I’m there to encourage (others). The reason of the season is generosity and hope and just the promises of a new year ... of course there is the magic of the North Pole of Santa, that's a huge part of it as well. But it’s for everyone — anyone can come and experience this and look at the beauty, the hard work and just enjoy being together with your loved ones,” she said.