Time to get that Santa suit on and start running

Though it originated in Philadelphia, the annual ‘Running of the Santas’ fits perfectly into the New Orleans holiday season.

To start, you’ve got “animated, amazing, fanciful costumes of all sorts,” says Steve Schulkens, a spokesman for the event. “There are Santas, Mrs. Clause’s, elves, candy canes, Scrooge, jingle bells, Jack Frost, Old Man Winter…one year a guy even came dressed up as a Christmas tree, complete with a battery pack that operated all the lights and the ornaments. It was truly amazing.”

There’s also holiday food and specialty drinks from 2:00 PM until 6:00 PM at the “South Pole” located at Manning’s (519 Fulton Street). At 6:00 PM, the crowd of Santas will begin the four block “Fun Run” to the “North Pole” located at Generations Hall (310 Andrew Higgins Dr). 

The actual ‘run’ starts at 6:00 p.m., and it’s not one of those big 10-k runs, Schulkens says. “It’s a fun run. It’s basically about a five or six block sprint. Some of them take it seriously and do it quickly, some of them crawl.”

Following the run, at 8:00 PM, is possibly the highlight of the entire day, Schulkens says – the costume contest. “People work on them for months and months, and we pick the top ten, and then from those we award three prizes – first second and third. But you should see some of these elaborate costumes.”

All of the fun is also for a very good cause. All of the proceeds from The Running of the Santas go the So Others May Live Foundation, a non-profit that seeks to ensure that every child of a fallen military personnel receives an opportunity for success, through education (scholarships), counseling, or personal guidance, Schulkens says.

With those ingredients, it’s no wonder the Running of the Santas started with just about a hundred people and has now grown to four or five thousand.

The Running of the Santas will take place on Saturday, December 9, 2017. For more information or to buy advanced tickets, go to www.runningofthesantas.com.