Costume-clad revelers raise funds for Oakdale charity

Rainy weather didn’t dampen the spirit of costumed revelers raising money for charity as they drank their way through Oakdale bars Sunday.

The fourth annual Santa Claus Pub Crawl attracted a couple of hundred fun-loving adults who spent the day imbibing a little holiday cheer and snacking on appetizers provided by five Oakdale cocktail lounges.

Proceeds from the six-hour event were expected to raise several thousand dollars for the Spirit of Oakdale charity, which provided 1,100 free Thanksgiving Day meals this year.

“We do this every year. It gets everybody together for a good cause,” said Meranda Ulrich, who came to Sunday’s pub crawl adorned in a colorful hot-glue holiday creation. “If you can get drunk and help people out at the same time, that’s the best.”

Participants purchased tickets to join in the day’s activities, which included costume contests. They were required to buy one drink at every bar, and they were transported safely between taverns.

“I actually don’t like to drink, but I like to support our community,” said Aimee Crawford, who wore an elaborate Cindy Lou Who costume of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” fame. Her husband, Josh, came as the Grinch, complete with green chest hair.

“I made them last night,” Crawford said of their outfits. “I’m a costumer. It’s my hobby.”

Melanie Casey spent an hour crafting her own tutu for the event.

“Last year I was a reindeer, and I think next year we’ll be sugar plum fairies,” said Casey, whose date shook his head when asked if he wanted to be a fairy, too.

Besides the homemade costumes, there was a lot of festive fun at each stop.

“Oakdale people will always come out for a great time and a good cause,” said Roper McLean, who had antlers sprouting from his hat.

Between sipping on beer, wine and assorted mixed drinks, the partygoers talked about how their fundraising efforts helped their community.

“A lot of these people came and worked their butts off with us on Thanksgiving Day,” explained Vickie Thompson, who organized this year’s Spirit of Oakdale meal. “We carved 85 turkeys, cooked 300 pounds of potatoes and 400 pounds of yams.”

McLean said he helped peel those potatoes and gathered canned food donations, which were distributed to about 240 families after the meal.

“All the kids got a free toy, and every family got a box of food,” McLean said.

Thompson said the pub crawl is the charity’s biggest fundraiser.

“It’s extremely enjoyable. We get all kinds of people here,” she said. “They like to have a good time, and they’re very generous as the day goes on.”

Lana Rojas Casey and Saundra Sward-West organized the bar hop.

“We started this because we saw a Santa pub crawl in San Francisco,” Casey said. She expected 200 to 300 people would participate this year, each paying $25 to $30 to join in.

Sward-West said they relied mostly on word of mouth to publicize the event because they wanted to keep it local.

“It’s all about giving back to the Oakdale community,” she said.

The bars taking part this year were the H-B, Cafe Bravo, Cow Track, Firenze and the Battered Beaver.

This story was originally published November 30, 2014 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Costume-clad revelers raise funds for Oakdale charity."