SantaCon Cancelled In NYC

If you wanted to enjoy the unique celebration of all things Santa, Christmas, and Pub crawling in New York City this year, you'll have to find an alternative to SantaCon, as the annual event has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. New cases continue to climb, with the latest numbers revealing nearly 7000 new cases, and so organizers announced today that the event, which was supposed to open up next month, has been cancelled, and they made the announcement via a statement on their website (via ABC 7 News).

The event typically involves everybody gathering at local pubs and bars with plenty of Santas in attendance, all in an effort to celebrate the holidays and raise money for Helping Hearts NYC, and while the event won't be held this year, you can still donate.

You can read the full statement from the official website below, which also offers up alternatives to the annual event.

"ALL OF THE REINDEER GOT THE 'RONA SO, THE ELVES HAVE ADVISED SANTA TO HOLD OFF ON THE IN-PERSON MERRIMENT. THERE IS NO SANTACON NYC THIS YEAR. HERE ARE SOME WAYS TO SPREAD MERRIMENT (NOT INFECTION) THIS YEAR:

1. SANTA'S FRIENDS AT HELPING HEARTS NYC ARE WORKING TO FEED LOCAL FRONTLINE WORKERS SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN. PLEASE DONATE AND HELP OUT THE CITY WE LOVE.

2. WHY NOT PLAY A LITTLE HOLIDAY DRINKING GAME? SHOT ON THE SHELF WILL LIGHT UP YOUR HOLIDAY SPIRIT LIKE RUDOLPH'S SUSPICIOUSLY RED NOSE. #SHELVED

3. TAKE A WALK DOWN SANTACON FUZZY MEMORY LANE. WATCH THE OFFICIAL SANATACON VIDEO PLAYLISTS WITH HIGHLIGHTS OF ALL THE MERRIMENT ALL AROUND NYC. DID YOU MAKE THE CUT?

2020: THE YEAR THERE WAS NO SANTACON. REMAIN HOME AND STAY ON THE GOOD LIST! WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER SO TO KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE, WE HAVE TO SOCIALLY DISTANCE AND WEAR A MASK. LOOKING FORWARD TO 2021."

SantaCon is just the latest event t be postponed or outright cancelled in light of the coronavirus pandemic, with many events and conventions going virtual in 2020. That will likely continue in early 2021, but perhaps bigger events can resume in person later in 2021.