Hordes of Santa Clauses will not be running through the streets of New Orleans this Holiday Season.
Event organizers have announced they will postpone the December 12 event until December 11, 2021. Organizers say they expected more than 4,000 participants but because of the pandemic and city COVID restrictions, the event will not happen this year.
The annual bar-hopping event has people dressed in costume as either Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, Jingle Bells, Jack Frost, Old Man Winter and more. A portion of the events proceeds were planned to be donated to the That Others May Live Foundation.
Donations can still be made directly to the That Other May Live Foundation, which provides scholarships, family counseling, and aid to surviving children of United States Air Force Rescue Heroes who gave the ultimate sacrifice during a rescue mission.
The “Running of the Santas” started in 1998 in the streets of downtown Philadelphia when 40 close friends decided to suit up in holiday costumes and go bar hopping. Since then, the “Running of the Santas” event has grown across the world with more than 20 host cities from Pennsylvania to the shores of New Zealand.