Almost 1,800 people participated in the Santa Pub Crawl in 2019 and organizers are hoping for that number again Saturday night.
One of the founders of the event, Rachel Watts, said they encourage participants to dress festively – they’ve seen people dress up as everything from a Christmas tree to a menorah – and meet at Butchers at 6 p.m. for a pre-crawl bite to eat.
“And then the next stop is always Downstairs, which is where the party really starts,” Watts said. “Seth Hill and his gang do an amazing job there. And he really is the hub for the toy collection part of it. We do ask everybody to bring a new unwrapped toy or a $10 donation as part of coming to the event. And several bars will take the toys. Downstairs of course, Flanagan's, No Name and The Cabin will have boxes where so if they don't make it to the Downstairs at the beginning of the crawl, they can join the pub crawl at any time but they will be asked for a donation.”
Once the toy or cash donation is made, participants will have their hands stamped. From there, she said the group spreads out to the bars in the middle of Main Street.
All the toys and money are donated to the Christian Center of Park City. Programs Director Matt Melville said they’re collecting toys for infants up to age 18. He suggests buying a toy you would have liked to have had as a kid.
“This is our single largest collector of toys for the program,” Melville said. “And this year, just Summit County, we're looking at about 730 kids or so, which is almost 300 families. And then also last year was the first year I went to the Santa Pub Crawl. And it was just, it was a lot of fun. A lot of friends came up to it. They just do such a good job. It's a fun environment. I recommend everybody to come and attend this event Saturday night.”
The toys will be distributed at the Christian Center Dec. 13 and 14. Parents have already pre-registered and will come during designated time slots to choose the toys for their kids.
