When Santas Attack!

December 7, 2004 9:03 PM

Santas Gone WildImagine a flashmob. Now imagine a flashmob that is nothing but Santas. Once a year, for 10 years now, a bunch of crazies dress up like Santa Claus, frolic around major cities (like NYC, good text summary of what SantaCon is all about to be found here) and cause merry mischief.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero (20 comments total)

Ok, so it's a repost from waaaay back when, but I thought this one deserved to be brought to light again, what with SantaCon 2004 quickly approaching.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:06 PM on December 7, 2004 [1 favorite]

call me when Santas are flashing their tits.
posted by puke & cry at 9:26 PM on December 7, 2004

Watch your eye, puke & cry, elf nipples are damn pointy.
posted by scarabic at 9:29 PM on December 7, 2004

Someone, somewhere, is still Vogueing.
posted by orange clock at 9:29 PM on December 7, 2004

Damn, it's already come and gone in Portland for the year. Would've liked to have seen it.
posted by hopeless romantique at 9:41 PM on December 7, 2004

Here's what Chuck Palahniuk has to say about it:

"Everybody arrives dressed as Santa Claus, using the name "Santa Claus," and the host city usually has two to three days of continuous events. People drink and party and sing, and disrupt big benefit parties, and are basically public nuisances. But the fact that there's 400 of them all in red makes them this stunning sort of moving artwork. They call it "The Red Tide." It's really beautiful. When I did it in '96, at one point it was all these Santas against this SWAT team of cops, because the Santas wanted to get into a shopping center that was private property. It was so beautiful to see all these blue policemen juxtaposed with all these red Santas, and all these crying kids that were like, "Why are you beating up on Santa?" "

Can't say I'd imagine it being particularly "stunning" or "moving," although santa in a police car is kinda funny.
posted by gleckt at 9:57 PM on December 7, 2004

Join your own local chapter and get involved.
posted by quasistoic at 12:29 AM on December 8, 2004

I actually went as far as reading the San Francisco Police Report 1995 and love the idea of Suspect Santas with darting eyes
posted by Cancergiggles at 1:20 AM on December 8, 2004

I wouldn't call it a red tide. I would call it a "Yule Tide" (credit goes to the Tick, of course.
posted by n9 at 4:48 AM on December 8, 2004

An ex of mine does this every year, and since he's such a pretentious twit, I can't get past thinking it must be stupid because he thinks it's so subversive. As far as I can tell it's just a bunch of faux anarchists running around in Santa suits drinking. I don't see any higher purpose or message.

Just my 2 cents, take them for what they're worth (i.e., not much).
posted by jennaratrix at 7:26 AM on December 8, 2004

Haha, hating something because someone you hate does it is perfectly valid, IMHO. (I've gotten rid of perfectly nice things that were given to me by people that later turned out to be jerks.)
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 8:26 AM on December 8, 2004 [1 favorite]

My first FPP, and it wasn't deleted! ::does happy jig::
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:15 AM on December 8, 2004 [1 favorite]

i ran into santacon last year when i went to see unsilent night in washington square park. it was breathtaking to see so many santas. i've been waiting all year to join!!
posted by armacy at 10:36 AM on December 8, 2004

I ran into the Portland Santarchy last Saturday afternoon and it looked pretty sedate. Maybe the booze hadn't kicked in yet.
posted by turbodog at 10:54 AM on December 8, 2004

Well if any of you are coming to the SF Santa Run, contact BikerGirl. She's organizing this years.

For a bit a history, Rob Schmidt who orginally started the Santa Con with the Cacophony Society is also the genius who started the Salmon Run "swimming" upstream of the Bay-to-Breakers Race.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 11:50 AM on December 8, 2004

FYI: contact BikerGirl SOON or you will miss it.
posted by quasistoic at 4:26 PM on December 8, 2004

Well it's Saturday day here in SF. You can check the squidlist at http://www.laughingsquid.org/squidlist/calendar/8678/2004/12/11
In NY, Nonsense NY list would have it (hosted by Laughing Squid).
Also various Cacophony lodges will likely post their runs on local craigslists.

What do we want? HO! When do we want it? HO!
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:16 PM on December 8, 2004

"As far as I can tell it's just a bunch of faux anarchists running around in Santa suits drinking. I don't see any higher purpose or message."

Must there be a message or purpose?
posted by bikergirl at 1:49 PM on December 10, 2004

I don't think it has been listed on the website yet so here is the starting place for Santacon tomorrow in NYC. The starting time was courtesy of the previously mentioned nonsense nyc listserve. The best list for New York happenings for sure. Living in New York would be really boring for me without these folks.


Santacon begins at Triple 8 Palace
88 E. Broadway, New York
10:12a; $free (bring money for Metrocard, food, drinks, and
sophisticated adult entertainment)
posted by lips at 1:55 PM on December 10, 2004

Here's the NYTimes article [NYT, obviously] about SantaCon 2004. Sounded fun, sad I missed it!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 2:38 PM on December 12, 2004 [1 favorite]