Ventucky Santacon 12/21: Sleigh? No! Bike? Yo! Trolley? HO! HO! HO!

That’s right, the Ventucky Santacon will be mobile–a flock of Santas on bikes not sleighs flying your way Sunday December 21! Or else take the Ventura Trolley to hook up with Santa! What’s Santacon you ask? According to Wikipedia,

SantaCon is a mass gathering of people dressed in their various interpretations of Santa Claus costumes and performing publicly on streets and in bars in cities around the world. The focus is on spontaneity, creativity, and the improvisational nature of human interaction while having a good time and spreading cheer and goodwill to all they come across.

Sometimes known in the U.S. as Naughty Santas, Cheapsuit Santas, Santarchy, Santa Rampage, the Red Menace and Santapalooza, SantaCon events are noted for cheerfully bawdy and harmless behavior, including the singing of naughty Christmas carols, and the giving of small gifts and free hugs to random strangers. In Japan there is more of the “doing good” principle and they have contributed to the community through such activities as Santa litter-picking outings. Some participants see SantaCon as a postmodern revival of Saturnalia, while others see the event as a precursor of the flash mob. For others it is about spreading the real spirit of Christmas in the form of love, generosity, fun and celebration with ones fellows.

In 1994, the Cacophony Society staged the first American SantaCon in San Francisco. Influenced by the surrealist movement, Discordianism, and other subversive art currents, the Cacophonists decided to celebrate the Yule season in a distinctly anti-commercial manner, by mixing guerrilla street theatre, pranksterism, and public intoxication. SantaCon has since evolved, spawning many different versions and interpretations of the event throughout the world.

This Ventucky edition is following the altruistic model of Santarchy by making numerous stops at arts non-profits like the Artists Union (where gifts might be found and purchased!) and the Artbarn, and by making donations to VCCOOL’s Bike Pod in exchange for libations!

YOU can get your Santa on at the large City Parking lot down the alley near the corner of San Jon and Thompson. MEET at 1230; we’ll leave at 1pm to ride over to the Artists Union Gallery (where “C” street meets the sea) and sing carols, make snowmen out of sand, give treats to children, and make donations to the Artists Union in exchange for drinks and snacks! If you’re running a bit behind, don’t mind making a contribution to the city coffers, or want to have your car closer to downtown, pay to park in the parking garage here, and ride, walk or take the trolley.

SO if you don’t have or want to ride a bike, from the Artists Union Gallery, you can take the VENTURA TROLLEY ROUTE 12 –with SANTA of course! Please print out and bring with you a schedule and map–and an extra for SANTA! (The trolley leaves near the Union Gallery before 2pm and will let you off at the Ventura Mission moments later.)

From the Artists Union Gallery, we intend to ride along the ocean on the bike path (map pdf here), cutting over at Main Street. We have several stops in mind for those of us on bikes, then we will leave our bikes in a prearranged corral for some on foot Santarchy…An after party is in the works also–Check back here for more ROUTE and AFTER PARTY details!

In the meantime, get your SANTA ON! Santa hats and other Santa makings can be found at thrifts stores; Toni said one local store had dozens for $1 or less, and the 99c store has VERY cheap ones for you guessed it, 99c.