NEW YORK — If you see thousands of Santa Clauses in Manhattan today, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. SantaCon is back after a year off due to COVID-19.
It's safe to say New Yorkers have a love-hate relationship with the annual bar crawl, which kicked off at 10 a.m. in Midtown, Manhattan. But that hasn’t stopped throngs of revelers from gathering.
Each year, the event raises money for charities across the city like Girl Scouts of New York and City Harvest.
NY1 reporter Victoria Manna spoke to some festive fans on the pub crawl who take their costumes, and giving back to those in need, rather seriously.
“I love celebrating the holidays, and it’s a great way to get all those extra food donations and bring more food to the homeless,” participant Ali Luminescent told NY1.
“I’m most excited to see what kind of homemade and beautiful costumes people come up with. I think it’s a really cool opportunity for creativity and for the artistic community to express themselves for a good cause," Luminescent added.
This year, the bar crawl kicked off at Margaritaville in Times Square.
It’s especially exciting for first timers to the event.
“I saw it when I was a kid,” said Christopher Giorgio, who was surrounded by his friends. “I never was a part of it and as soon as we were legal age of drinking we decided that we should all do it together.”
The MTA is banning alcohol consumption on Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road trains during SantaCon NYC.
The ban is in effect from 4 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 11 through noon Sunday, Dec. 12. As in years past, the restriction also bans alcohol on all LIRR and Metro-North station platforms during these times.
As for the excitement around the return of SantaCon, well that depends on who you ask. The event has a reputation of turning rowdy, but before participants took to the bars they were advised to keep it jolly and to abide by the city’s COVID rules, so SantaCon can be enjoyed for years to come.