More than 11,000 revellers are expected to hit Wollongong on Saturday for the annual Santa Claus Pub Crawl.
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Here's your guide for this 18-plus event.
About the charity crawl
It was started 26 years ago by a small group of friends as a way to raise some Christmas spirit.
More than $153,000 was raised in 2018.
The annual event has expanded, and in 2019 will take place under the banner of 'SantaFest Wollongong'.
This year, funds raised will go to The Salvation Army and The Disability Trust.
Tickets
All tickets for wristbands will only be sold online via the thesantaclauspubcrawl.com website.
There are no refunds for these tickets - this is a charity event and they operate regardless of weather.
Entry Costs
*Green wristband - Valid ONLY until midnight for venue entry
Standard Price - $38 - Available 2 Nov - 13 Dec
Gate Price - $45 - ONLY on day of event
Green wristband bonus deals include:
entry into ALL venues participating in SCPC until midnight subject to line-up and RSA (no door charge to pay at any of them). After midnight the normal door charge will be required for entry
continuous entry on and off our shuttle buses throughout the evening
North Gong Hotel - 2 x Complimentary Drink Vouchers for are also included in the purchase price (valid before 3pm for beer, wine or soft drink)
The Bavarian - $10 Cocktails - The Mrs Claus Martini & Naughty or Nice & $10 Crispy Pork Roll (Add $5 Fries)
Fever Nightclub - FREE entry until midnight (subject to line-up & RSA)
Illawarra Brewery - $5 Vodka's, $5 VB Schooners & $5 Smashed Burgers from 2pm-4pm
HeyDay Nightclub - FREE entry until midnight (subject to line-up & RSA)
Humber - Half-Price Cheeseburgers & $10 Cocktails from 4pm-7pm
Bullpen Sports Diner - $5.00 Bucket of Wings, $5.00 Schooners (Coors or Blue Moon), $5.00 House Wine, $7.00 Cocktails (14 on the list), $5.00 House Spirits from 4pm-6pm
Hotel Illawarra - FREE entry until midnight (subject to line-up & RSA)
Pepe's on the Beach - $10 Candy Cane Cocktail & $10 North Pole Burger specials from 12pm-4pm
Numbers are limited so it is advised to purchase early to avoid disappointment.
*Red wristband
Standard Price - $18 - Available 2 Nov - 13 Dec
Gate Price - $20 - ONLY on day of event
Entry just to North Gong Hotel and use of shuttle bus - anyone wearing a red wristband would still need to pay any normal entry fee to nightclubs this wish to attend. Red wristbands will be sold at gates of NGH also.
Event entry
Tickets can be scanned as a printed Tickets@home, Apple Wallet or as a Google Pay Pass. Tickets will be swapped for wristbands via the information outlined in your receipt email.
More details here.
Venues
The Santa Claus Pub Crawl has a basic route and schedule for everyone to follow.
This is not a strict guideline though, and organisers encourage participants to stay at a pub if they are enjoying themselves, or skip ahead to the next venue.
Participating venues are:
*Early starters: 12pm onwards: Balgownie Hotel, Towradgi Beach Hotel, Brewhouse @ Illawarra Brewing Co, North Wollongong Hotel, Figtree Hotel, Charles Hotel, Coniston Hotel and Pepe's On The Beach.
*Afternoon start: 2pm - onwards: The Illawarra Brewery, Bullpen Sports Diner.
*Traditional Start: 4pm - onwards: North Wollongong Hotel, HeyDay - Free Entry with Green Wristband until Midnight, His Boy Elroy, The Bavarian, Hotel Illawarra, Juniper, Humber, Dicey Riley's.
*7.30pm - onwards: Ron De Vu, Red Square.
*9pm - onwards: Fever (free entry with green wristband until midnight), HeyDay (free entry with green wristband until midnight), and Hotel Illawarra (free entry with green wristband until midnight).
Accommodation
Funds will also be raised through accommodation venues donating a percentage of their room sales for the night.
These venues include Mantra Wollongong, Novotel Wollongong, Adina Apartments, Dicey Rileys Hotel, Pioneer Sands Towradgi, MarketView Hotel and the Sage Hotel.
Use the Codeword 'SantaFest2019' when making bookings for this donation to apply.
Survival tips
Event organiser and founder Neil Webster advised participants to make use of the shuttle buses.
"We have shuttle buses running from 12pm through to 3am, and they're running between the venues.
"Be mindful of others, and if a bouncer tells you to move on, then move on.
"Make sure you eat - each of the venues has their own food offerings on the day.
"If a venue is full, don't stand in a line-up for an hour - hop on a bus and go to another venue. Spend an hour or two at another venue, and then come back."
More details
Click here.
Brendan Crabb
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
I'm a member of ACM's national property team, covering the Illawarra and South Coast. Based in Albion Park, NSW, I write about exciting, interesting or just downright quirky properties that have been listed for sale, major sales, market trends, auctions and more. One of my favourite aspects of being a journalist is I believe everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
