The organizer behind Charlotte's viral hot dog bar crawl is back with a holiday sequel, merging Plaza Midwood's Holiday Hop with NoDa's longtime Krampus Krawl into one sprawling Dec. 5 event spanning both neighborhoods. More than 20 businesses are involved, with costumes, contests, live music and donation drives for Toys for Tots and Second Harvest Food Bank woven throughout the day and night.
The woman behind it, who goes by Olive and asked to be identified only by her first name, moved to Charlotte about a year and a half ago before creating the idea for a hot dog party on TikTok, according to Axios. That idea snowballed into the citywide Hot Dog Bar Crawl, which drew more than 1,000 people on Aug. 1 and pulled in 30 participating businesses, transforming one internet joke into a citywide crawl in under two months, per the same outlet's earlier coverage.
That kind of rapid growth wasn't a fluke, according to The Charlotte Ledger, which reported that Olive put the entire Hot Dog Bar Crawl together in just 45 days. The event's ripple effects showed up fast in business receipts: several local spots told Axios they posted record sales numbers, with Common Market Plaza Midwood reporting its best sales day since the pandemic began and Plot Twist bringing in nearly $11,000 in a single day.
How the Dec. 5 Schedule Breaks Down
The holiday event splits into two phases. Holiday Hop runs noon to 4 p.m. across both Plaza Midwood and NoDa, the Axios report notes, before handing off to the Krampus Krawl, which kicks off at 5 p.m. in NoDa. Costumes and themed attire are encouraged throughout, giving the whole day a dress-up, block-party feel rather than a single ticketed gathering.
Daytime programming leans toward family-friendly and shopping-focused activities. The planned lineup includes holiday costume contests and a fashion show at Common Market, plus a gingerbread-making competition at Plot Twist, according to the report. The Improper Pig is set to host photos with Santa and a tree lighting from 5 to 7 p.m., while the Merry Midwood Market brings local vendors selling holiday goods to Plaza Midwood.
NoDa's Krampus Tradition Carries Into the Night
Once the sun goes down, the action shifts to NoDa's long-running Krampus tradition. The Krampus Krawl is expected to feature live music at multiple neighborhood bars, along with free special-effects makeup and free light-up Krampus horns for participants, per Axios's reporting. The tradition itself has deep roots in the neighborhood: it began as a small bar crawl in 2014 with roughly a dozen people moving between venues before growing into a larger music and arts festival, according to the Charlotte Ledger.
By 2018, the Krawl had already become a fixture, with the Charlotte Observer noting it had taken over NoDa for one Saturday night each December for five years running at that point. More recently, the 2024 edition drew an expected 1,500 to 2,000 participants and featured eight bands and two local DJs performing throughout the night, according to the Charlotte Ledger's reporting on that year's Krawl.
Giving Back Alongside the Festivities
Beyond the costumes and contests, organizers built a charitable component into this year's combined event. Olive told Axios the Holiday Hop x Krampus Krawl will provide donation boxes for Toys for Tots and Second Harvest Food Bank in both neighborhoods, giving attendees a way to contribute while bar-hopping between the two districts. Organizers say more details about participating businesses and additional events are still to come, and they're recommending RSVPs through Partiful for anyone planning to join.
