This was the fifth year of “Surfing Santas,” an event down in Cocoa Beach, FL. It benefits Grind for Life, which is a really worthy cause. While there are other “Surfing Santa” events — like this one in Laguna Niguel — the Cocoa Beach one tends to get the most publicity, including a shout-out in USA Today, which is still among the gold standards of publicity in the newspaper print industry. Here’s another one, from Gannett, with a key quote:
Surfin’ Santas was centered at South 24th Street, behind Trosset’s beachfront home near the State Road A1A split just south of town. Brevard County Sheriff’s Office deputies directed hordes of motorists, and parked vehicles lined the highway and an assortment of bordering properties.
“I think we’ll have to move. If we can move next year to downtown Cocoa Beach, that’s probably what we’ll do. We are definitely maxed out,” Trosset said, speaking on the beach in full St. Nick regalia holding his black Nash stand-up paddle.
Trosset’s the organizer, if you hadn’t used context clues to figure that one out. So let’s recap: Surfing Santas, a beautiful charity event featuring people in the full costume of a North Pole resident surfing on a beach in Florida, has maxed out Cocoa Beach to the point that it’s going downtown! And there’s going to be a block party!
War on Christmas? My ass. The spirit is alive even where the mercury is running between 63 and 85.
