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Enter SantaCon.
SantaCon is a pub-crawl where participants dressed as Santa—or other creative holiday-inspired attire—receive special discounts in participating bars. These events have become a global phenomenon and are done in 271 locations in 37 countries, including unlikely destinations such as Da Nang, Vietnam, Busan, South Korea, Dubai and China.
As part of the “Peekskill Makes Me Merry” campaign, the Peekskill Business Improvement District (BID) found it imperative to bring back SantaCon for a second straight year.
“It’s a great way to pull people downtown and explore the things we believe make Peekskill a unique destination,” said Peekskill BID Executive Director Jason Angell. “Peekskill is becoming known for its restaurants and pubs. We want to promote the ‘foodie’ aspect of Peekskill as much as possible.”
This year’s Peekskill SantaCon started the night on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. at Division Street Grill—the second year in a row the restaurant was held as the event’s first stop. The next stops were 12 Grapes Music & Wine Bar, Bean Runner Café, Birdsall House, Ruben’s Mexican Café, Quiet Man Public House and, to end the night, Gleason’s.
“We weren’t ready for it last year,” said Division Street Grill owner Arne Paglia. “We underestimated how many people would come out for it. This year, we’re ready.”
Paglia even brought in an extra bartender for the expected 45 minutes of heavy bar traffic.
“I’m sort of a special SantaCon guest bartender,” said Shay Kilby, who was dressed in a Santa outfit. “I’m very excited to be here. You get to dress up and act silly. It’s a great way to relax and remove yourself from the stress holidays often bring.”
The first two crawlers to arrive were Peekskill residents Lisa Travis and Maureen LaFountain. Both were first-time SantaCon crawlers.
“We are ready to make it through the whole thing,” said Travis. “I think it will be a ton of fun to see everyone’s costumes and meet new people at different bars.”
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