Santarchy Pittsburgh 2026 I put in Market square for the start this might or will change. More info to come.
What is Santarchy/Santacon? We've been doing this for 21 years, this is more in the vibe of the Cacophony society with a pittsburgh touch. An Artistic Costume Loosely Organized 10+ hour bar crawl when yinz can KETCHUP (catch-up), Giving gifts (nice ones to the lil kids, wild ones to the adults, Being silly and prankful, taking pics, Ho Ho Ho'ing, Singing Dirty and Wild Carols rated from G, PG, R, XXX and hitting multiple neighborhoods riding on magical vehicles of funiculars, yachts, buses, electric jitneys, Subways and even reindeer!
SantaCon began in San Francisco in 1994, inspired by a Mother Jones article on the Danish activist theatre group Solvognen. In 1974, Solvognen gathered dozens of "Santas" in Copenhagen to hand out items from the shelves of a department store to customers as "presents"[7] before they were arrested.[8] Staged as street theater by a local prankster group, the Cacophony Society[8] – which had grown out of the earlier Suicide Club[9] – the aim was to make fun of Christmas and the rampant consumerism associated with the holiday. Originally called Santarchy and influenced by the Surrealist movement, Discordianism, and other subversive art currents, it was not intended to be a recurrent event.[9] However, the event occurred again in San Francisco in 1995 as a Cacophony Society event with 100 participants and at least two arrests.[10][11]
SantaCon came to Portland in 1996, to Seattle in 1997, and to Los Angeles and New York in 1998, when a "young San Franciscan strapped on a fake white beard, donned a $12 red suit, and led 200 Santas as they went caroling up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan," to the delight of passersby.[3] It has since evolved and spread to 44 countries around the world, with varying versions and interpretations.[2][7] Events for 2013 were scheduled in 300 cities, including New York City, London, Vancouver, Belfast, and Moscow.[2] The New York SantaCon is the largest, with an estimated 30,000 people participating in 2012.[12][13] Other events were much smaller and more subdued, with 30 participating in Spokane, Washington.[14]
The event has also been variously known as Santarchy, Santa Rampage, the Red Menace, and Santapalooza.[15] A December 2015 article on Vox described SantaCon as "a roving, loosely organized event where people dress like Santa Claus, elves, or other holiday figures and parade around a city in varying states of sobriety.
Also check out other Arts events in Pittsburgh, Kids events & activities in Pittsburgh, Parties in Pittsburgh.
