Garrettsville – Ever wish you could celebrate the Christmas season with a dash of Halloween and a pinch of St. Patrick’s Day to spice it up? Well, your wish is the command of Sean Varner, proprietor of both Sean’s Pub and Slim & Jumbo’s sports bar, next-door neighbors on Main Street.
Varner is bringing a new Christmas fundraiser to town, which will incorporate the greater community of downtown bars/eateries, including Main Street Grille & Brewing Company, Silver Creek Saloon, SkyLane Lounge and Garrettsville Eagles, as well as Sean’s and Slim’s.
Garrettsville’s first-ever 24-hour Santa Pub Crawl will debut at noon on Saturday, December 3 at Slim & Jumbo’s at 8101 Main Street and conclude at noon on Sunday, December 4. Adult participants are sure to have fun while providing toys for disadvantaged children during the holidays.
Here’s how it works: Guys must dress as Santa (be creative or go classic) and gals must dress in some sort of holiday costume or outfit. Everyone is asked to bring a new (unwrapped) toy to donate to Toys-For-Tots and drop them off at Slim & Jumbo’s.
Then Santa Pub Crawling begins. Each establishment will feature various holiday specials in honor of the event. Varner says participants can ‘crawl’ to each pub to make the most of the featured specials, or they can choose to hang out at their favorite watering hole. As they make their way around town in costume, the festive atmosphere will certainly spread throughout the streets of Garrettsville.
Santa Pub Crawls have become popular holiday events in big cities like Atlanta, Tampa, Reno, NYC, Chicago, and Santa Monica, to name a few. They draw thousands of participants who donate hundreds of toys and thousands of dollars to various local charities.
Varner is pretty sure that Garrettsville is the smallest venue to host this charitable fundraiser. Donations will go to the Portage County chapter of Toys for Tots, so local children will be the beneficiaries this holiday season.
Established in 1947 by a private citizen, the Marine Corps adopted Toys for Tots in 1948 and expanded it into a nationwide campaign, with its logo designed by Walt Disney. Marines have conducted successful nationwide campaigns at Christmas each year since 1948. The initial objective endures today: to “bring the joy of Christmas to America’s needy children.”
Over the 62 years of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program, Marines have distributed more than 400 million toys to more than 188 million needy children. The more toys that are donated by private citizens, the more toys will be available for distribution. So bring in a nice new toy for a child in Portage County, then celebrate the season with Garrettsville’s first-ever Santa Pub Crawl.
Like Varner says, “It’s a great way to get out and celebrate the season while giving to a great charity and making children happy this Christmas.”
