Overview The Holiday Hop is Green Curtain Events' Christmas bar crawl through Old Town, one Saturday afternoon in early December on Wells Street. A single ticket gets guests into about a dozen neighborhood bars, each decorated around its own holiday theme, and GCE bills it as the way to kick off the holiday season in Chicago. It started as "Old Town presents: The Holiday Hop" with the Old Town Merchants and Residents Association. On site Guests check in at The Glunz Tavern, with a late check-in at LG's, and pick up a wristband, a route map and vouchers for a drink and a shot. From there they walk Wells Street between bars such as Benchmark, Utopian Tailgate, Burton Place, Rabbit Hole, Woodie's Flat, Corcoran's, Fireplace Inn and Old Town Pub. Rooms go all in on décor, with themes like a winter wonder disco, après-ski, Christmas classic movies and an Elf on the Shelf hunt. DJs, musicians, Santa and other holiday characters work the route, and ugly sweater contests run through the day. Audience Every guest is 21 or older. Most come in ugly sweaters and Santa hats, as friend groups, couples and office outings. Green Curtain's surveys put its average guest at 29, with 76% holding a bachelor's degree and 57% earning $75,000 or more. Talent and Influencers Entertainment runs on DJs spinning holiday hits and live musicians in the bars, plus costumed characters, among them Santa, Bad Santa and an Elvis. No headliner is booked, since the bars and the costumes carry the day. Track record Green Curtain Events has produced Chicago events for more than 15 years, including Tacos y Tamales, the Great American Lobster Fest at Navy Pier and its St. Patrick's Day and Halloween crawls. The Holiday Hop has run every December since it launched. Do312 and the participating bars promote it each year. Brand presence The drink vouchers are where brands sit. White Claw, Jack Daniel's, el Jimador and Modelo were the voucher pours, with their logos on the ticket page. Tiers run from sampling at check-in to one exclusive partner, and official sponsors are featured in up to three drink specials across the bars. Signage, email and social posts come with every tier.