Hundreds of Santas surf on Florida's Space Coast
Surfing Santas hosted its 12th annual charity surf on Christmas Eve with special appearance from NFL quarterback
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Florida, Santa ditched his nine reindeer and flying sleigh and kicked off Christmas festivities with a surfboard.
The remarkable moment happened at Cocoa Beach on Christmas Eve Friday, when hundreds of surfers donned their best Santa costumes to celebrate the holiday and benefit local charities.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Thousands of spectators traveled to Florida’s Space Coast for the 12th annual Surfing Santas charity event on Christmas Eve 2021. (NPI/Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism)
More than 10,000 spectators traveled to Florida’s Space Coast for the 12th annual Surfing Santas event and watched 400-plus surfers shred waves for a good cause.
The organization had to cancel its event last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but this year Surfing Santas went all out with a six-city block venue at 3 Minutemen Causeway Beach.
Surfing Santas hosted its 12th annual charity surf on Christmas Eve with a special appearance from former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, who kicked off the event by jumping out a helicopter while wearing a Santa costume. (NPI/Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former New England Patriots quarterback Doug Flutie kicked off the event Friday morning by jumping out of a helicopter into the Atlantic Ocean wearing a Santa costume.
The rest of the day was filled with space-themed goodies, costume contests, Hawaiian dancers and a visit from Santa Claus.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A media representative for Surfing Santas told Fox News Digital that the organization has raised $62,000 from selling T-shirts at this year's surf event — a record year for the organization. According to event leaders at Surfing Santas, proceeds from the Christmas Eve surf event will be donated to Florida-based charities.
The organization said it has raised more than $200,000 from its 11 previous Surfing Santas events for two local nonprofits – Grind for Life, a financial assistance program for cancer patients, and the Florida Surf Museum, a surfing preservation society. Both organizations are based in Cocoa Beach.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Surfers and spectators who wish to get involved with Surfing Santas can visit the organization’s website at SurfingSantas.org.