CHARLESTON, W.Va.— The Downtown Charleston Association is set to host their Santa Crawl this Saturday.
This year will be first time the event has been held; it will get underway at 6 p.m. and go until 10 p.m.
DCA’s Morgan Morrison and Kevin Madison were on 580 Live Friday morning to talk about the event.
Morrison said that she was inspired to create the Santa Crawl because of the experience she had in New York with their event Santa Con.
Morrison says the event is for people who want to dress up and enjoy downtown Charleston.
“And it’s basically one giant crawl of Santa Clauses,” Morrison said. “We’re encouraging everybody to get their best version of a Santa suit ready. Every bar, restaurant, pretty much downtown is participating.”
People willing to participate can purchase a $15 wristband that can get you into any participating businesses. Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Black Sheep Burrito and Brews at the Brewery Party Room on Summers Street.
Madison said that this event, and Holly Jolly Brawley, was made possible by the passage of PODA’s, private outdoor designated areas, in downtown Charleston.
“Downtown Charleston is a Christmas vibe right now, and you know with PODA being in place here in Charleston,” Madison said. “Cudos to Mayor Goodwin and her administration and staff and city council for allowing Charleston to have PODA, it’s changed the game.”
PODA allows the sale of beverages permitted by PODA, only during authorized days and hours with the exception being when alcohol is available as part of a festival.
And despite, it being a small event, Madison said that people can use this event to give back to local businesses.
“This is the time of the year to give back to these local businesses, for some it’s been tough, for some it’s not business has been good,” he said. “We love your support this time of year, these are the same businesses that are supporting school events and sports teams.”
And with this being the first year, Morrison hopes that the event catches on like Holly Jolly Brawley and other events they have throughout the year.
“We put so much into Holly Jolly Brawley, the decorations are great, downtown is packed for the remainder of the year but it’s like all this hype we just have two days for something to celebrate, actually going on,” she said. “So, by adding the Santa Crawl, which is something we’ve been tossing around for the last couple of years, the timing just didn’t feel right, we were too packed. But this year felt right to roll it out and we hope that it’s successful and we hope that it becomes a tradition like everything else we do.”