Derby resident Dave D’Agostino wanted to go to the annual Santa bar crawl in New York City on Dec. 10, but it didn’t fit into his schedule.
So he decided to start his own in the Valley.
After a couple weeks of Facebook messaging, word has spread and the first “Valley SantaCon Pub Crawl” was born.
It happens tonight (Dec. 16) at 7 p.m. — when about 100 people dressed as Santa or other Christmas-type characters are expected to meet at Whiskey’s on Route 34 in Derby.
From there they will move to Bar None on Elizabeth Street, and finally end the night at Danny O’s on Howe Avenue in Shelton.
Click play on the video above to see the action from the NYC SantaCon on Dec. 10.
“It’s really taken off,” D’Agostino said Friday. “I figured even if we had 10 people, it would be a funny thing. I said let’s go out and get some laughs.”
As of Friday morning, about 140 people had confirmed their participation in the event, through a Facebook invite, D’Agostino said.
Our vision of what a few people may look like about 1 a.m. Saturday (that's Dan Aykroyd in 'Trading Places').
Since they have so much interest, D’Agostino and his friends Paul Vartelas and Anthony Defala, decided to make the event a donation drive for the Valley food bank too.
The group will meet at 6:45 p.m. at the St. Michael Church parking lot on Derby Avenue, and collect non-perishable food items to donate to the Spooner House and Valley Food Bank. The Valley United Way is helping get the food to the food bank, D’Agostino said.
“Everyone we talked to said they liked that idea,” D’Agostino said. “It’s almost a feel good type of thing. We’re mixing a good deed with a good time.”
The general timeline for the bar crawl is:
- 6:45 p.m.: Meet at the St. Michael Church parking lot. Collect donated food items.
- 7 p.m.: Walk across the street to Whiskey’s.
- 8:30 p.m.: Walk down Route 34 to Elizabeth Street and reconvene at Bar None. D’Agostino said a “Derby police escort” will help make sure that the participants can safely cross the Route 8 northbound on-ramp, off Route 34.
- 10:45 p.m.: Walk down Elizabeth Street and across the Derby-Shelton Bridge to Howe Avenue in Shelton. Reconvene at Danny O’s Downtown.
D’Agostino said Whiskey’s and Bar None have agreed to hold drink specials for the SantaCon bar crawl.
