The Gaff is another stop that has participated in the Santa Crawl since the very first year. It probably has the distinction of being the most difficult bar to get into though – and that’s because it’s one of the most popular spots in town. There always seems to be a line outside the ShandyGaff.
While purchase of a Santa Crawl wristband does allow Crawlers to avoid the cover charges at the bars, it does not provide them with a pass to skip the line. I’ve chosen this approach for a couple of reasons.
One, lines at the bars are there to enforce occupancy codes. If the wristband allowed Crawlers to skip the line, that could create occupancy issues. Given that the LCB seems to have State College’s bars continually under a microscope, we don’t want to do anything that might bring the wrath of the LCB down on any of the establishments.
Two, we are all out just to have a good time. If I were a normal patron of one of the pubs, standing in line waiting to get into my favorite spot, and a bunch of yahoos in costumes suddenly jumped in front of me in a line, I might be a bit resentful. We have a perfect track record in that, to the best of my knowledge, there has never been an alcohol related incident during the Crawl, and I want to keep it that way. I want Crawlers and regular patrons of the establishments on the crawl to get along and enjoy the holiday scene. I don’t want tension to develop between the groups.
Depending on the time you get to the ShandyGaff, there quite possibly could be a line. If there is, please be respectful and wait your turn to gain entrance. While your waiting you can explain to everyone else in line exactly what the hell is going on. Let everyone see how much fun you are having so that they’ll want to tag along next year.
