March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 51 F

Santa Claus brings Christmas greens to Tangier Island

As they have been for over forty years, pilots from the Chesapeake Bay area brought Christmas cheer to the approximately 700 isolated residents of Tangier Island, Virginia on December 13th.  Initially scheduled for the 6th, weather postponed the aerial caravan until the following weekend. So, what is the Holly Run?

Annapolis Ward 1 Alderman, Joe Budge participated in the event this year as well.

Eastern shore pilot Ed Nabb, Sr. started delivering holiday greens (holly) to the island in the 1960s when he realized that the rising sea level had eroded Tangier Island to the point that it no longer supported the growth of holly or other traditional Christmas evergreens.

His son, Ed Nabb Jr. took the reigns upon his father’s passing growing the event to nearly three dozen pilots and planes carrying holly to the island. In recent years, the event has grown to more than fifty aircraft and Santa has joined the pilots to spread Christmas cheer.

The pilots this year brought school supplies for the students and teachers at the Tangier Combined School. “Teachers on the island can’t just run out to Walmart like we can,” explained Chesapeake Sport Pilot Chief Flight Instructor and Holly Run coordinator Helen Woods. “Things that every teacher needs this time of year like Kleenex and Germ-X can be in short supply. So, we loaded our planes with these and other items the school needs in addition to bags of holly.”

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