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 Bellisario 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 $60,000 for the Boland Fund. The fund was been handing out awards for six years and have helped over ten Bellasario College of Communication students with their internships (Boland Award Winners)
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 10th, the same day after ours. Our SantaCon page is located here.
5. 2019 is our 15th anniversary.
The first State College Santa Crawl was in 2004 and had just five participants. We have grown over 100 fold since.
6. SantaCon is 25 years 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.
7. 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 Hooter’s and other bar 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.
8. 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.
9. We’ve added eight bars in the last three years bringing the total participating to 22.
Three years ago, the Crawl consisted of just 15 establishments. In 2017, we added three spots. Champs Downtown rejoined the Crawl after being closed for extensive remodeling the previous year. Chrome was a newcomer to the circuit, joining us for the first time that year. The Federal Taphouse opened their doors for business and enthusiastically joined the Crawl rotunda.
Last year we added two more. The east end of town suffered a bit with the closing of Kildare’s. We juiced that end of town up a bit with the addition of Envy (replaced this year with Re//Bar) and Sharkies.
This year will again be adding two new pubs. A’s Pub at McLanahan’s will bring their unique self-service approach to the Crawl. BRGR, a new eatery in the old Citizen’s bank building will be a newbee two.
10. You don’t have to go to every bar.
This shouldn’t be a surprise. Twenty two bars in six hours is a bit much for anyone. The expectation is that following the launch parties at Primanti’s, Cafe 210, Federal Taphouse, and Doggie’s you will simply pick your favorite establishments from the list and make your way to then at your own pace. All the bars have been informed to expect Crawlers to show up around 9 pm.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Wristbands can be purchased in advance.
Because of the sheer numbers of people participating, I encourage people to pre-purchase wristbands. We have locations all over town where you can get them in advance. All of the following locations and will be selling them beginning tomorrow: Primanti Bros, Tavern Restaurant, The Brewery, Doggie’s Pub, Hotel State College, Cafe 210 West, Federal Taphouse, and Chrome Liquor Lounge
14. 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.
15. It’s not too late to get a suit.
Party City, located in the Walmart Plaza on East College Ave, across the Benner Pike from the Nittany Mall, has plenty of Christmas themed costumes for sale.
16. 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.
17. 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. 2018 will mark the fourth running of this now annual event. Information on the event can be found on the race website, LeftRightRun’s website, or “Run Rudolph Run” Facebook Event Page. Discounted pricing is available for people participating in both events. Pre-register here.