Riders on West Hollywood’s free shuttles The Sunset Trip and the WeHo PickUp Line were treated to a special Santa surprise this past weekend with a Santa that was Hunky and a little bit Rock ‘n Roll Santa. Two Santas joining commuters for the free ride as part of the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s promotion for “Eat, Shop, Play WeHo for the Holidays.”
Jon D’Amico (not to be confused with the Mayor of West Hollywood, John D’Amico), put on a Santa Suit and rode The Sunset Trip on the rocking side of Sunset Boulevard and surrounding areas to liven things up on Friday night. He was there for photo ops and handed out “Eat, Shop, Play WeHo” shopping bags to some lucky riders.
D’Amico is quite familiar with the Sunset Strip. He does the Rock ‘n Walk Tours, which are guided walking and jogging tours of the strip from West Hollywood to Beverly Hills. He has the inside scoop on the history of the award-winning Rock ‘n Walk Sunset Strip, and he knows where the celebrities live in the area.
The Sunset Trip is a free trolley service that is offered by the City of West Hollywood. The Sunset Trip runs on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm – 1:30 am. The City offers the Sunset Trip to give residents and visitors a free and fun way to get to the many restaurants, bars, and attractions on the Sunset Strip, the Design District, and Santa Monica Blvd. The Sunset Trip also goes down to the west end of Melrose Avenue (near Robertson) and also connects to The PickUp at its San Vicente/Santa Monica stop and its Fairfax /Santa Monica stops. Trolleys arrive at their stops every 15 minutes on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm – 1:30 am. Oh yes, did we mention the rides are free?
Then things got a little bit heated on the WeHo PickUp Line on Santa Monica Boulevard Saturday night. It was hunky Santa’s turn to spice things up in WeHo. Hunky Santa took the free shuttle and bar-hopped all over WeHo’s Boystown to spread some holiday cheer. He was even seen dancing at Rocco’s WeHo to hip hop music.
The PickUp Line is a six-mile long loop with stops every two to three blocks along Santa Monica Blvd. between Robertson and La Brea! It runs on Friday and Saturday nights from 8pm to 3am and on Sundays from 2pm-10pm! In addition to its regular service, The PickUp also runs from 8pm-3am on the following special nightlife holidays:
St. Patrick’s Day
Cinco de Mayo
Sunday before Memorial Day
Fourth of July
Sunday before Labor Day
Halloween
New Year’s Eve
Riders of The PickUp enjoy perks that make switching from car to trolley worth it. VIP entry to The Abbey means no waiting in line to get into the world’s most famous gay bar. Hugo’s has one free appetizer with entrée for PickUp patrons and Yogurt Stop offers 10% off your order to riders. Riders getting off at Fubar get their first drink for just $1. Micky’s offers free priority entry to riders and patrons of Rage can get 1/2 off any regular price drink before 11pm. Taking advantage of these perks is easy—just hop on one of my trolleys for a ride and grab a perk card (located just inside the entry). Then just whip it out at any of the participating businesses listed below, and enjoy.
If you missed the Eat Shop Play Santas, they will return for the following weekends:
Rock ‘n Roll Santa is back on the Sunset Trip shuttle on Friday, December 6, and Friday, December 13, and Friday, December 20 from 5-9pm.
Hunky Santa returns to the WeHo PickUp Line on Saturdays, December 14, from 8pm to midnight, and Sunday, December 15 from, 2pm to 6 p.m.
For information on where to Eat, Shop, Play visit https://www.eatshopplayweho.com/. Proceeds from businesses participating in the Eat Shop Play program will benefit the Los Angeles LGBT Culinary Arts.
Photos by Paulo Murillo
