Dozens of Santas took to the streets of Tuscaloosa this weekend for an event known as SantaCon.
The Santas followed a winding route to hit many of the city’s bars and microbreweries. But the main focus of the evening was on charity. The group donated hundreds of toys to Turning Point of West Alabama, an organization serving victims of domestic violence and sexual assault and their children. They also received donations of toiletries for the mothers at Turning Point.
Daniel Wagner is the Grand Marshal of the Tuscaloosa SantaCon. He says as SantaCon got bigger, his colleague Bo Hicks had the idea to incorporate charity into the mix.
“Running around in Santa suits and getting wasted at a bunch of bars is great, but he had the idea that maybe we could turn it into something more, and from there, we just started rolling with it. And actually do something that feels good. For once in the year, people can say ‘I feel good’, if they haven’t felt good about doing anything all year.”
Another SantaCon is planned for this coming Friday at 6 PM starting at the Wildwood Tavern in Florence.