1. We’re not just a bar crawl, we’re a fund raiser
We raise money for the Pat Boland Memorial Internship Fund. The Boland Fund is run by the Penn State College of Communications and is designed to award grants to PSU students who are interning at media outlets around the state. The money is raised by selling wristbands for $20. Our bar partners have generously agreed to waive their cover charges for anyone wearing a Santa Crawl wristband – a win/win for all involved.
2. We are the largest annual donor to the Pat Boland Fund.
To date, we have raise over $17,000 for the Boland Fund and hope to come close to doubling that amount this year. Our annual gift has helped the fund meet several key goals. Three years ago our donation kicked the fund over its initial funding target enabling it to start awarding grants.
3. 100% of the monies raised go to the Boland Fund.
Santa Crawl organizers and partners absorb all of the operating expenses for the event. 100% of the money from the wristband sales goes to the Boland Fund, we have zero overhead.
4. We are part of a worldwide grass routes organization called SantaCon.
SantaCon bar tours are a worldwide phenomena with events takng place in over 100 cities worldwide, the most famous, some would say infamous, of which it the one in New York which annually attracts over 10,000 participants. This year’s New York event will be held on Saturday Dec 13th, the day after ours. Our SantaCon page is located here.
5. The State College Santa Crawl is over a decade old.
The first State College Santa Crawl was in 2004 and had just five participants. We have grown considerable since then with an estimated 500+ people attending last year.
6. SantaCon is over two decades old.
The SantaCon movement got its start in 1994 in San Francisco. It was a flash mob before flash mobs got trendy organized by the Cacaphony Society of San Francisco and was called Santarchy. Today, the Santarchy website serves as a worldwide resource for Santacon events.
6. The idea for the Santa Crawl came from former PSU hoops star Brian Allen.
In 2003, Brian spotted me (SantaLar) wandering around town in a Santa suit (I had just used it to crash the Hooter’s Christmas party). He was the one that told me about friends of his who ran a SantaCon event in DC and suggested that we organize one in State College for the next year. That sounded like fun, so I quickly agreed. Neither of us could ever have imagined how big this thing has gotten.
7. The idea for making it a fund raiser came from former PSU football star, Keith “The Goon” Conlin.
Former WMAJ news and sports reporter Pat Boland helped introduce Keith to the broadcasting business. Pat also participated in some of the early Santa Crawls. When Pat tragically lost his fight with cancer in 2011, Keith suggested that we channel some of the Santa Crawl enthusiasm in a positive direction by raising money for the fund that had been established at the College of Communication in Pat’s name. The pairing has worked wonderfully.
8. There are, once again, 17 bars participating.
When the Gingerbread Man closed its doors 18 months ago, we were fortunate enough to have Levels step up to fill in for them. This past year Levels shut down. . . but Primanti Bros opened in the old G-Man location, so we’re covered.
9. You don’t have to go to every bar.
This shouldn’t be a surprise. We segment the evening into one hour periods and slot groups of bars into each one hour period. The expectation is that you will pick your favorite pub among the designated group and spend your hour mingling and making friends at the spot. At the end of the hour, you then shift to the next group. We don’t expect you to try to hit all the bars in your group. That said, after 10 or 11 o’clock any semblance of order among the group is lost and it truly becomes a flash mob.
10. This is primarily an adult professional event. It is not student dominated.
While we don’t discriminate and students are certainly welcome, this is primarily an adult professional crowd – we have doctors, lawyers, and maybe even Indian chiefs. Partially because the Crawl is always scheduled just before finals week, student attendance is down from a normal weekend night downtown. That makes room for the rest of the State College community to enjoy the event.
11. We have never had an alcohol related incident that required the involvement of the authorities (at least none that I am aware of)
Knock on wood. We want this to continue. We strongly believe that adults can behave responsibly even when alcohol is included. Please help keep it that way. We want this to be a safe happy holiday experience for all.
12. Wristbands can be purchased in advanced.
I’m expecting a significant increase in participants this years. In order to avoid a bottleneck at the start, I’m encouraging people to pre-purchase wristbands. We’ve also expanded the pre-purchase options. You can now get them at more locations, during more hours, and at an earlier date than previous years. Starting Monday, wristbands will be available at three locations: the Hotel State College front desk during the day, the Tavern Restaurant during the evening, and Bradley’s Steaks during their normal business hours.
13. You don’t need to buy a wristband to participate.
While we certainly encourage people to purchase one so that we can support our charity partner, if you are just going to join us for a short time, you can jump in at any point. You might have to pay a cover charge at the bar, but you can certainly participate in the holiday fun.
14. You cannot overdress for this event.
I can’t tell you the number of times that I had a first year rookie tell me that they were reluctant to dress up in any kind of Santa garb, so they went minimalist. That minimalist approach had the opposite effect than they had planned. Undoubtedly their reluctance to fully dress was because they didn’t want to draw attention to themselves. What they failed to realize was that by going minimal, they were actually going to be the ones that stood out. So don’t be that guy that just shows up in a hat, jump in with both feet and embrace the event.
15. It’s not too late to get a suit.
Party City, located in the Barnes and Noble Plaza, across the Benner Pike from the Nittany Mall, has plenty of Christmas themed costumes for sale. Even better, they are offering Santa Crawlers a 10% discount on holiday costumes and accessories. To get the discount, go to our SantaCon webpage and click on the Party City link on the right to print off the coupon (or take a picture of the coupon barcode with your smartphone).
16. We have a sister event “Run Rudolph Run”
If you are a non-drinker, or are underage, and want to participate in the Santa Crawl festivities we have an alternative for you. The Santa Crawl has join with LeftRightRepeat to sponsor a 5K Run/Walk through the Borough of State College the morning of the event. Information on the event can be found on the race website, LeftRightRun’s website, or “Run Rudolph Run” Facebook Event Page. Discount pricing is available for people participating in both events.
