southern pines

Update: While we were not able to continue the tradition in Southern Pines, we have been overwhelmed by the support of our new location, Aberdeen, NC.  From town planners, police, fire department, parks & recreation, merchants guild and many many more, it has been truly inspiring to see a community come together to create a great event, help a great local cause, and show the world what it can do.  Aberdeen is a community that is moving forward, and we are proud to be a part of it.  We are very excited by what we can accomplish together!

For those that will miss the parade following our event, check out the Aberdeen parade, one of the longest running in the area, on December 10th at 3:00 p.m.  Come and see local floats, local bands, and local flavor, and stay downtown to shop and dine and discover what Aberdeen has to offer.

Update: Thank you to everyone for your encouragement and opinions. One thing if for sure – we have some GREAT people that come to this event. We are excited by those who have reached out to us, and confident that whatever the final changes may be, the 5th Annual Reindeer Fun Run will be bigger and better than ever!

Original: After being inspired by the Reindeer Run in Charleston, we set out to create an event in Southern Pines that would bring the community together, create lots of joy and fun, and raise money for a worthy community cause. To start, we reviewed the calendar of known events in the area and chose a date and time that was unoccupied – the first Saturday morning of each December. Since then, the Reindeer Fun Run has grown from a few hundred participants to nearly 2,000 with an additional 1,000 volunteers and fans. We have been thrilled by the growth, for the holiday cheer it brings to Southern Pines, and our ability to donate nearly $50,000 for programs and services at our local Boys and Girls Clubs.

Recently however, we have been dealing with an issue that jeopardizes our tradition. Our annual first Saturday morning of December has been requested by the Southern Pines Holiday Parade, an event coordinated by the Southern Pines Business Association and co-sponsored by the Town of Southern Pines.

The parade is an event we both love and cherish. However, since we started the Reindeer Fun Run, the parade committee has changed their parade date and/or start time all four years, and is looking to make a fifth change this year. Unfortunately, the time the parade committee has chosen is 10am, right in the middle of our annual Reindeer Fun Run. Despite the fact that the Reindeer Fun Run picked a free date and time from the start and has not altered it since inception, we have been informed by the Town of Southern Pines that the wishes of the parade committee will be granted with its requested time and that our permit will be denied. Since the Town of Southern Pines is a parade co-sponsor, we have been informed that the time the parade committee chooses will have precedence over that of any “charity” event. The parade committee claims their requested time will attract more bands, interfere less with downtown holiday shopping and help with eliminating the chaos of parade line-up. We offered to lend support to the parade to help with pre-parade chaos, and many other ideas as a way to persuade organizers to reconsider. We have been informed however that they are unwilling to do so.

For us, this is a frustrating, heavy blow considering how much work hundreds of volunteers have done to create what we feel is a positive, family tradition that showcases what we love about Southern Pines and the whole community of Moore County. Of course, it isn’t just for our community, but we have grown to be a holiday destination event for others. Last year, participants represented 112 cities in North Carolina, and a total of 12 states. A survey of our runners found that nearly 50% stayed downtown after the race to shop and dine. We fielded many calls this past year from first time visitors wondering where to stay and eat while in town. The Reindeer Fun Run does not cause the closing of any major streets during business hours and provides free activities to everyone.

How should we proceed? The options are to cancel the event, move the race to another date entirely (2nd/3rd Saturday-Sunday) or to move it to another location. While talking to our friends, all of these have been met with hesitance and conflicts. We cannot move earlier because of interference with the Turkey Trot, and later begins to conflict with other community Christmas activities, shopping and colder weather. Another location (though we have been approached by other communities eager to welcome the event) moves it away from the downtown location we were so excited to bring it to 5 years ago.

We would like to get your opinion on what we should do. After all, it is a community event, and the views of our community are very important to us. We greatly thank you for taking the time to tell us what you think.