AFRP Holiday Ugly Sweater Poker Walk 2026

Join us on Saturday, December 5 for the Third Annual AFRP Holiday Ugly Sweater Poker Walk in downtown Pacific Grove!

What is a Holiday Ugly Sweater Poker Walk, you might ask? In a nutshell, it's a fundraiser where you will put on your "best" ugly Christmas sweater and "play" poker by visiting a few establishments in Pacific Grove - at each pre-determined stop, you will be dealt another card for your poker hand! When you have been dealt your fifth, and final card, you will return to the AFRP office where you can swap out cards in the hopes of getting a better hand or you can turn in the hand you were dealt. 

To begin, you will check in at the AFRP Treasure Shop at 221 Grand Avenue in Pacific Grove. At check-in, you will receive a name tag lanyard with discount coupons and you will be dealt your first card. Then over the course of the next three hours, you will make your way to a few establishments in PG: The PG Meetinghouse, Pop & Hiss, Hops & Fog and The Monarch Pub & Restaurant. You will be dealt a new card at each location - and if you would like, stay for a bit and enjoy $2 off food/drink at each location.

NEW THIS YEAR:

Your last stop will be THE MONARCH PUB & RESTAURANT where you will be dealt your last hand and you will turn in your poker hand! Once you turn in your hand, we will tally it up and see how your hand ranks against all the other participants! Hang out at The Monarch while we tally the winners - prizes will be awarded for the TOP FIVE poker hands and there will be a raffle winner for the losing poker hands, as well as for the TOP THREE ugly Christmas sweaters!

• Registration/Check In & FIRST CARD DEALT: 12:00 – 1:00pm

• NEXT 4 Stations Poker Walk: 12:00 – 4:00pm

• Poker Hands MUST be turned in by 4:15pm (NO EXCEPTIONS!)

• Poker Hands Tallied: 4:15 – 4:45pm

• Winners and Prizes: 4:45 – 5:30pm

If you want to try your luck and play more than one hand of poker on the Poker Walk, additional hands may be purchased for $5/hand during registration or at The AFRP Treasure Shop when you check in.

The Details:

• The AFRP Ugly Christmas Sweater Poker Walk consist of 5 Poker Stations.

• Each participant begins at the Check-In Table (AFRP Treasure Shop at 221 Grand Avenue) where they check in. Participants will receive a lanyard and a map of the station locations. Participants will also be “dealt” their first card upon check-in.

• Participants will visit each station once to create a 5-Card Poker Hand.

• After receiving the first card, there are four host locations where they will be dealt the remaining four cards by AFRP (and you can visit any of the locations in the order of your choosing) :

  • Hops & Fog

  • The PG Meetinghouse

  • Pop & Hiss

  • Monarch Pub & Restaurant

• At the first 5 visited Poker Stations, each participant will be “dealt” 1 card to create a 5-card poker hand. The new card must be initialed and then stapled to the poker hand before leaving the table.

• The last poker station is The Monarch Pub this year!

• When turning in their poker hand at The Monarch Pub, participants will have the option to draw up to two NEW cards for a $5 donation/card.

• Final poker hands must be turned in to the AFRP Judges Station by 4:15pm (No exceptions). Poker hands will be reviewed for prizes.

• Prizes will be given for the Five Best Poker hands and all losing poker hands will have a ticket entered for a raffle prize drawing.

• Additional prizes for the top three ugly Christmas sweaters.