NONPROFIT SPOTLIGHT
Hanging with
the SantasBy Sue DeWerff
Surfing Santas share warm waves
during a past Christmas Eve event,
bringing their individual style and
holiday cheer to the annual celebration.
SURFING SANTAS
Surfers share the waves while raising money for Brevard charities
26: SPACE COAST LIVING | SPACECOASTLIVING.COM
HOLIDAYS 2022
What started as a fun
family outing on
Christmas Eve 2009
for George Trosset,
has since become one of the largest
gatherings to ever converge on the
Space Coast. Surfing Santas — now
in its 14th year — brings the magic of
the holidays to Cocoa Beach as surfers
share the waves while spectators
enjoy the action and participate in
multiple activities surrounding the
annual family friendly event.
“In my wildest dreams, I could never
have imagined how this thing has
evolved to what it has become,” the
Cocoa Beach resident said.
He remembered the first time he
donned a Santa suit, grabbed his
surfboard and joined his son and
daughter-in-law on that sunny
morning to ride the waves
off 24th Street
in South Cocoa Beach.
“We paddled out dressed as Santa,
a snowman and an elf while my
wife, Nihla, photographed us, and
deemed us a bit crazy,” he recalled.
“During the next several years,
neighbors, friends, wanted to join
us. By 2011, our family outing had
turned into a full-blown Christmas
Eve extravaganza — complete
with a surfer that even
dressed as the Grinch.”
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