Jingle Bell 5K and Kids Santa Fun Run - Avon Park, FL 2026

The Jingle Bell 5K and Kids Santa Fun Run begins and ends at The Historic Jacaranda Hotel in downtown Avon Park, Florida. This holiday evening event features a one-block kids’ race at 6:30 p.m. and a 5K run/walk at 7:00 p.m. For over 20 years, the race has been a fixture of Avon Park’s Christmas season, centered on running, walking, children racing Santa, and gathering gifts for local children in foster care. The 5K course winds through Avon Park’s mile-long decorated mall. Runners begin first, followed by walkers, and then special needs and IDD children and adults. The event supports The Who I Am Foundation, benefiting local foster care children and those with special needs. Participants with special needs from Ridge Area ARC and the surrounding community are included, with reduced entry fees and free participation for their caregivers. Kids in the Fun Run get a goodie bag, all participants receive a swag bag at registration and a Christmas ornament at the finish, and new pajamas are collected on race night for foster care children via Heartland for Children and Worthy and Known Family Project.