(Cocoa Beach) Sand, dunes and palm trees. Cocoa Beach, Florida, is nothing like the North Pole. But on December 24, thousands of Santas flock there to celebrate in the name of a good cause.
The sky is low and heavy, the temperature flirts with 20 degrees Celsius, which means that it is freezing weather in the eyes of a large number of locals.
But the beach is full of men, women and children dressed as Santa Claus, reindeer or elves. Participants in the “SurfingSantas” event have costume contests and drink cocktails while the boldest launch themselves into the waves perched on boards.
PHOTO MARCO BELLO, REUTERS
“Surfing Santas” was born in 2009 in the head of George Trosset, a resident of Cocoa Beach, who had seen an advertisement in which people dressed as Santa Claus were surfing on the ocean.
He had bought an old red coat at a thrift store and went surfing, accompanied by his son dressed as an elf and his three-year-old grandson, who watched him from the beach. A local photographer had immortalized the moment.
“The second year, we had 19 Santas,” says George Trosset, now 70 years old. “The third year 80 and now look at this. There are thousands of people. »
PHOTO MARCO BELLO, REUTERS
Cocoa Beach
Faced with the success of the “Surfing Santas”, some had the idea of associating charitable actions with it. Volunteers sell T-shirts and raffle tickets to raise funds that will go to two local associations: Grind for Life, which financially supports cancer patients who need to travel far away for treatment, and the Florida Surf Museum, establishment dedicated to sport.
“I’m very grateful that a lot of people like what we do. I’m told that every year we have millions of views. If this is true, then we bring millions of smiles every year,” says George Trosset.