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Never heard of Santarchy? You're in for a treat.
Saturday, December 10th, starting at 12 noon, hundreds of men and women dressed as Santa Claus will begin their annual
day-long march through the city of Seattle. And all over the world Santas will be coming together this month to march on their own cities
-- from
McMurdo, Antarctica to
Auckland, New Zealand;
Barcelona, Spain to
Tokyo, Japan;
Helsinki, Finland to
Seattle, Washington. Think of it like
swallows flying back to Capistrano, or the Monarch butterflies making their migration to Central America. Okay, maybe
it's a little more like lemmings throwing themselves off cliffs -- but it's still a LOT of fun!
But Why and How, you ask?
Organized for over a decade now by Cacophony Societies in cities all over the world, Santarchy (aka Santacon) has become an annual tradition
in cities everywhere, providing an opportunity for costume-crazy-cacophonists to hit the streets together for a day of fun and mischief. It all started in San Francisco, but (like all good things) it's spread to every corner of the world.
Although they vary from city to city, Santarchy in Seattle has some traditions:
- Address every Santa as Santa, (and every Elf as Elf, etc.). Never use anyone's real name.
- Have something ready to hand out, whether it's just candy canes or homemade 'toys'.
- Be ready for new adventure at a moment's notice, and be flexible. Santas are like sharks -- they must keep moving in order to thrive.
- Just like Dirty Bunny: Uphold the hallowed tradition of NEVER WASHING THE SUIT.
- Santas often carry a little nip of something in a less suspicious container --
like a thoroughly cleaned Pine-Sol bottle.
- Santas sing their own special Christmas carols.
- The event makes regular stops at local bars, so it's a 21 and over event, primarily.
And Santarchy in Seattle has some rules:
- Don't fuck with cops -- if a police officer asks you to do something, do it. if you want to get arrested, do it when we're not all dressed alike.
- Don't fuck with staff & security -- if we're asked to leave someplace, do it. see rule #1.
- Don't fuck with little kids -- it may be traumatic enough seeing more than one santa in one place at one time. don't make it worse by being rude. if you see little kids, give them candy, toys, or a kind word. save your mischief for adults.
- Don't fuck with Santa
Last year, Santarchy wandered the streets of Downtown Seattle, including marching through Pike Place Market, singing 'carols' at the Opera House, touring the Library, shopping at a Fetish Bazaar at Seattle Center, dancing outside the Nutcracker, riding the Carousel at Westlake Park, tipping strippers at The Lusty Lady, enjoying indoor snow at Pacific Place, and (of course) drinking in lots of bars. Dirty Bunny and several other Guerrillas took part last year, passing out altered stuffed animals and candy canes and we took lots of pictures. And if you're worried, Santas in Seattle have fun, but they don't get themselves into trouble with police.
This year, the planning committee is still putting together the itinerary. As this is not a GMP-organized event, we'll be working with the Santa Planners to get all the details as they are available, and we'll pass them along to you.
The plan is to meet at 12 noon at the Ballard Smoke Shop (5439 Ballard Ave NW), and to end up at
Consolidated Works (500 Boren Avenue N) for the SeaCompression party in the evening. But the Santa Planners are a smart and
thoughtful group, and they'll be providing a list of stops and times so you can catch up with the fun at any time of the day. We'll post the plan when it's available.
Until then, get your Santa gear together, and your elven outfits on, and get ready to join the fun of SANTARCHY! Whether you don a full St. Nick suit or a simple Santa Hat, whether you feel the urge to dress as a Reindeer or Mrs. Claus, or whether your inner Frosty or your secret Elf self come out to play, this is going to be one fun afternoon and evening. Don't miss it!
Tips on finding or making cheap Santa Suits: HERE
More Info on the history of Santarchy: HERE
More about Seattle Cacophonists and join their mailing list: HERE
More about Cacophony Societies around the globe: HERE
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