With move from Sioux City, Siouxville Grinch brings holiday character to Sioux Falls

Every Sioux

Down in Siouxville

Likes Christmas a lot …

But the Grinch, who lived just north of Siouxville,

Did NOT.

But the Siouxville Grinch

Decided to make things right.

He got an idea!

An awesome idea!

The Siouxville Grinch got a wonderful, awesome idea.

He screwed on his head just right.

He made sure his shoes weren’t too tight.

And he let his heart grow

Three sizes one night.

Martin Dalcourt doesn’t really have to screw his head on just right or loosen his shoes before he heads out to act as the Siouxville Grinch.

Instead, he pops special contacts in his eyes, spends almost two hours attaching prosthetics to his face with a rubber cement-like substance, lengthens his eyelashes with mascara and dabs on additional makeup, then dons three layers of clothing before setting out to special events.

Seven years ago, as a resident of Sioux City, he became the Siouxville Grinch. Luckily, when Dalcourt and his wife, Tammy, moved to Sioux Falls earlier this year, he could retain the moniker that echoes the original Who-ville of Dr. Seuss fame.

“I was watching the movie for probably the 50th or 60th time when it came to me: Siouxville, Who-ville, Seuss, Whos. I’m the Siouxville Grinch,” Dalcourt said.

“The movie” refers to the 2000 film starring Jim Carrey, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

“Jim Carrey definitely gave a whole new facet and dimension to the character,” Dalcourt said. “I was intrigued by it. I was also intrigued by the makeup.”

Dalcourt prefers “The Grinch” to the 1966 television special, “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” with its cruder animation. But a fan of Dr. Seuss since his childhood, Dalcourt prefers that author’s holiday book to another perennial competitor, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” aka ’Twas the Night Before Christmas.

He’s not alone. Dalcourt doesn’t intend to insult any Santa stand-in, but in his experience, children now are more excited to see the Grinch than they are the man in red.

One of his Grinch gigs started because the host organization had received so many requests for a Grinch to accompany Santa that they gave Dalcourt a call and established a space for him.

Why the fondness for a character that spends most of his biography thinking of ways to ruin the holiday for the Whos? Dalcourt isn’t sure, but he can speculate.

Two years ago, at a mall, he ran into 10 simulated Santas. None of them looked the same, and that can be confusing to children, he said. Plus, the Grinch evolves.

“By the end of the movie, he’s had a change of heart,” Dalcourt said. “He discovers what Christmas is truly about: being with family. It’s not about the presents but being with the persons you care about. The Grinch was never included, but at the end, he’s finally included.”

Tammy Dalcourt, who occasionally dresses as Max, the Grinch’s much-put-upon canine companion, has time to observe the children who see the Grinch.

“When I watch him interact with the kids, it’s a hoot. I love it,” she said.

Occasionally, she also has to act as her husband’s muscle when teenagers want to take on the Grinch. Other Grinch lookalikes also have been contentious in the past, but most people who put on the green fur are doing it to bring cheer and understand there’s room for more than one.

It’s the youngsters who make it worthwhile, Dalcourt said. He was making an appearance at the Railroad Museum in Sioux City one winter when a child approached him.

“One little girl, she looked so sad, and all she wanted to do was give me a hug. That kind of stuck with me,” he said. “For a character who’s got such a bad rap, for a character with all his negativities, they’re drawn to him. They think he’s the bee’s knees. They’re interacting with you and shouting out ‘Grinch! Grinch! Grinch!’ It’s amazing.”

Dalcourt, who began working at Amazon after his move to Sioux Falls, also offers another side business, Monster Karaoke and DJ Services. One Christmas season while hosting a karaoke night, he decided to dress as the Grinch. The acclaim he received made him decide to continue.

His first Grinch costume was made from shaggy dayglo green blankets purchased from a Walmart. When he decided he wanted to commit to being the Grinch professionally, instead of “running around being silly,” Dalcourt invested $1,000 in an actual costume.

He wears a sweat-wicking undergarment below his Grinch suit, then adds the Santa coat and hat. Wearing triple layers means he prefers outdoor events. When he’s inside, he needs to duck outside frequently into cooler air.

It takes about 60 minutes to disrobe and remove the prosthetics.

The Dalcourts, who celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on Halloween, are the parents of seven sons and grandparents of eight grandchildren with two more on the way. The grandkids are afraid of Santa but love the Grinch; that’s another reason he went pro, Dalcourt said.

By the time Christmas rolls around and Dalcourt takes off the Grinch costume for another season, he’s weary but uplifted and ready to carve the roast beast around his own table. Dalcourt has seen a faux-Grinch take children’s hats and mittens and toss them in the air, but he doesn’t want the children he interacts with to have any bad memories. He wants them to remember him capering around, reciting lines from the movie and offering hellos and hugs.

“I want them to see a little more the jovial side of the Grinch, more than the mean guy who’s going to burn down the tree and trash the house,” he said. “Despite the fact that you’re pretending to be the Grinch, you have to draw the lines somewhere. Most kids are enamored by the Grinch, and I would hate for that to change because one guy in a suit didn’t play nice.”