The numbers are in, and this year’s Park City Santa Pub Crawl toy drive netted enough toys to provide Christmases to more than 1,700 kids in Summit and Wasatch counties through the Christian Center of Park City’s Operation Hope.
Operation Hope is the Christian Center’s equivalent to Sub for Santa, where parents are able to participate in an empowering experience of selecting toys for their children in a Christmas-store setting, said Executive Director Steven Richardson.
“It’s about seeing the joy on people’s faces when they were able to get what they wanted, and some of the things they were able to get were probably not something they would think about putting on an angel card,” he said. “I remember helping one person who had picked up a stocking stuff and two toys. And she said, ‘OK, I’m done.’ and I said, ‘No, you can get a third toy,’ and she looked at me, and said, ‘Really?’”
Some of the toys collected will also be taken to the Goshute Tribe, which the Christian Center serves in the Four Corners area, said Santa Pub Crawl Founder Rachel Watts.
“I mean, a lot of people brought something like 12 to 15 toys each, so there were handfuls and bagfuls of toys,” she said.
The abundance of toy donations, which included bicycles, stuffed animals, video games and more, shocked Watts, who joined her Pub Crawl with the Christian Center and Downstairs Owner Seth Hill 13 years ago, after the latter two had started a toy drive five years prior.
“Every year the toy amount bumps up, but this year, I think we had about 50% more than last,” she said.
Part of the incentive was an opportunity drawing, according to Watts.
“All those who donate toys or cash were entered in an opportunity drawing for a brunch for two at Stein Eriksen Lodge or the Grand Prize — a night’s stay at Hotel Park City, with a voucher toward dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse,” she said. “So a lot of people brought extra toys. We even had a donation from someone from North Carolina, who won one of the prizes. They donated some toys and were able to enter the drawing.”
The response inspired Watts to bump up the prizes next year.
“To me it means that people who participate in the pub crawl are willing to give more, given the opportunity,” she said. “There have been people who have always done that, but there were more this year. And I would love to change the message of the pub crawl to ‘bring more toys.’”
In addition, some participants who didn’t bring toys donated money, and total sum peaked at $10,000, according to Watts.
As with prior years, the 2024 Park City Santa Pub Crawl began at Butcher’s Chop House, where pub crawlers got a bite to eat before partying through the night at participating bars — Downstairs, 625 Main St.; No Name Saloon & Grill, 447 Main St.; Flanagan’s on Main, 438 Main St.; The Cabin and the Marquis, both at 427 Main St.
The only thing needed to get a hand stamp and entrance to the bars was at least one new and unwrapped toy, Watts said.
“The toys went from tiny to huge,” she said. “There were more bicycles than we had ever had, and there were a lot of big plush toys. We also encouraged people to bring items for older children and teenagers. So we saw some PlayStation games and things like that.”
The night culminated with a party hosted by the Marquis and featured the local band Rage Against The Supremes, Watts said.
“They stepped in when the other venue fell through due to another engagement,” she said.
“Kenny Griswold, who owns the Marquis, and Sarah Scott, the general manager, told us we would do it again next year.”
The night wouldn’t have been the same if it weren’t for Junior Richard, who manages The Cabin, a bar located next door to the Marquis, Watts said.
“He helped by loaning us some of his staff and some of the sound equipment,” she said. “A lot of people messaged me after the event, and they raved about the Marquis and the band Rage Against the Supremes, which is already booked for next year.”
Watts heard that this year’s pub crawl attracted nearly 2,500 people, a far cry from the group she started with in the beginning.
“It went from 10 of my best friends to 2,500 of my best friends,” she said with a laugh.
Richardson, who stepped in as the Christian Center of Park City’s new executive director on Oct. 1, said this year’s Park City Santa Pub Crawl was phenomenal.
“We’re so thankful for Rachel and the group of people who worked with her,” he said. “I had never heard about anything like this, and it cracks me up that there is a pub crawl for something like the Christian Center. If that doesn’t make you smile, there is something wrong with your sense of humor.”
For information about the Park City Santa Pub Crawl, visit facebook.com/ParkCitySantaPubCrawl.
For information about the Christian Center of Park City and Operation Hope, visit ccofpc.org.