Danville celebrates first SantaCon and the event’s creators approve

DANVILLE It s manageable that no one at Danville s joyous first-ever SantaCon knew that artist John Law invented the event more than years ago in San Francisco because he hated Christmas While Santa-clad revelers bar-hopped and drank hot toddies at the Danville festivities on Dec the San Ramon Valley firefighters looking sadly sober were on hand collecting toys for kids Proceeds from the event were donated to local schools You ve got the whole gamut there with SantaCon with drunken vomiting young people and a fundraising event for kids Law advised this news organization in an interview It s been a very different event from when we started it until now Related Articles San Jose s Christmas in the Park has a busy weekend ahead Here s the perfect Christmas gift for big Beatles fans Tickets on sale Saturday for Christmas Eve screenings of It s a Wonderful Life Alamo Drafthouse offers up Christmas classics at all Bay Area locations Transcendence Theatre Company celebrates season with Broadway Holiday Law is the architect of San Francisco s Cacophony Society a group whose shenanigans have inspired Burning Man Fight Club and more according to a new documentary on the event SantaCon started when Law s buddy Rob Schmitt unveiled a postcard depicting a group of Santas playing pool in Schmitt suggested they get a bunch of Santas together for fun and Law jumped at the opportunity Personally I required to take the holiday back and make it something I would enjoy after the disillusionment that the myth of Santa was a bunch of garbage when I was years old Law disclosed I know it sounds silly but that s a core hypocrisy that stays with people for a long part of their lives Carissa Stach of Danville dressed as Cindy Lou from Dr Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas strikes a pose at Aracely Lounge during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Customers gather at Aracely Lounge during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group The Sioson sisters from left are Meilani Noelani and Lielani all of Danville participate in the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Customers gather at Aracely Lounge during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Mariko Klopstock left Deb Claire and Christy Ambrosio take a selfie together at Aracely Lounge during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Viena Moran left of San Jose Rosemary Vo of San Ramon and Adrienne Imperial of Danville participate during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Aracely Lounge manager Farhad Akbarpour assists customers during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Roger Lind left Beth Lind and Lisa Peers all of Danville gather at Primo's Pizzeria Pub during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Lisa Peers of Danville enjoys a drink at Aracely Lounge during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Fernando Constantino dressed as the Grinch heads to Aracely Lounge during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Wendy Sula middle of Danville who doesn't own the Golden Retrievers has her photo taken with them at the Aracely Lounge s patio during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Carissa Stach of Danville dressed as Cindy Lou from Dr Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas strikes a pose at Aracely Lounge during the first-ever SantaCon event in downtown Danville Calif on Saturday Dec Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Expand Since his ragtag group of adventurous artist friends first gathered for the inaugural SantaCon in meant to shatter the commercialization of the holidays Since then the event has blossomed into a neighborhood-friendly event where small businesses and cities beckon the Santas to spend money at their local bars and send bartenders home with specific of the fattest stacks of cash they can get all year For decades the Cacophony Society has gone against the grain of modern society questioning the rules and customs of the American society The group operated with an abrasive counterculture attitude with an anarchist slant It hosted the Black Tie Sewer Party where participants dressed up in gaudy formal attire and had a cocktail hour in a sewer organized Bridge Climbing on worldwide spans and put on a Kill Your TV event wherein they took turns shooting televisions with loaded guns To me the story of SantaCon and its creators and the story of the Cacophony Society in general is a story of how to live a good life in the rubble commented Seth Porges a film director who in November debuted a documentary on the event s history called Santacon Nowadays I think everything sort of feels like it has to be a hustle or exist for reasons outside of just fun with your friends The documentary depicts the first major SantaCon takeover of San Francisco in when Law and the Cacophony Society coordinated a joyful and chaotic ambush of the quiet lobby of the Hyatt Regency The extravagant display of whimsy wonder alcohol and cigarettes began with over Santas rushing the hotel s backdoor and storming through the place warbling Christmas carols Santas were seen devouring hors d oeuvres and stealing glasses of wine from hotel guests who were both stunned and amused Since that fateful night SantaCon has spread across the nation and around the globe These days tens of thousands of revelers flood Time Square in New York during the annual SantaCon and wreak havoc on the city drunkenly bustling from bar to bar and vomiting in the streets For the Danville fundraising event on Dec hundreds of comment dressed up in holiday costumes and bought wristbands that gave them hot toddies and free entry to the DJ party at Aracely Lounge Other participating businesses included Norm s Place Pete s Brass Rail Danville Brewing Co Locanda Primo s and Love You More We were a little afraid nobody would do it explained Kristen Miller a Danville resident who evidenced up to Aracely Lounge dressed as a reindeer with her partner Shawn Kinner and two other friends Nursing a glass of champagne Miller disclosed they planned to rally together next at Norm s Place for more drinks We re not quitter she commented She d never heard of Law or the Cacophony Society Nor had Danville newlyweds Carissa and Rich Stach who had arrived dressed up as Cindy Lou Who and the Grinch We just love any opportunity to dress up Carissa stated And neither had Linda Edson owner of Aracely Lounge and the event s organizer Edson had once attended a SantaCon in San Francisco where she lived for years before moving to Danville three years ago In the city she d seen what a large number of see when Santa comes to town a sea of red suits fake beards and a lot of satisfaction mixed with particular pandemonium She decided it would be fun to bring the event to her new hometown this year stepping into uncharted territory You put it out there and you don t know if anybody s going to show up or not she reported I have no idea what to expect It could be people it could be By about p m at least Santas had trotted their way into the town and started pouring into Aracely s Every insufficient minutes a new group would appear eager to step into the bright new winter wonderland A couple hours later Rob Santos and Jillian Schwartz ascertained their way to Elliott s a town staple and cash-only bar that s been around since to avoid the horde that jacked the wait time for a drink up to at least minutes at Aracely s they declared They decided to skip the special drink of the day at Elliott s a Snow Job shot made with rum churro-flavored Baileys and whipped cream I love the SantaCons in small-town areas SantaCon founder Rob Schmitt disclosed in a up-to-date interview while catching a bus in San Francisco In the big cities it kind of got out of hand The kids use it as a drunken bar crawl thing In the small towns I think it s a better fit I ve been to a couple Santa things in small towns and it works I ve also been in New York City when there s people and it s a madhouse He was happy to hear that the event he and his friends created three decades ago had made it to the San Ramon Valley for the first time I love when people have fun and go do things Schmitt noted Hopefully it gives them the idea to do something different For those who want a chance to experience the historic event for themselves other upcoming SantaCons in the Bay Area include one starting at noon Saturday in San Francisco s Mission District at Soundtrack SF th St another in San Jose starting at p m Saturday at p m at the Old Wagon Saloon Grill N San Pedro St and another starting at p m Dec in Downtown Livermore Santas storm San Francisco during the Cacophony Society's first major SantaCon in The event now know as a nationwide phenomenon fueled heavily by alcohol and belligerent young people was first created in by John Law and Rob Schmitt and organized by the Cacophony Society Courtesy of Scott Beale Pinball Party Productions Santas storm San Francisco during the Cacophony Society's first major SantaCon in The event now know as a nationwide phenomenon fueled heavily by alcohol and belligerent young people was first created in by John Law and Rob Schmitt and organized by the Cacophony Society Courtesy of Scott Beale Pinball Party Productions Santas storm San Francisco during the Cacophony Society's first major SantaCon in The event now know as a nationwide phenomenon fueled heavily by alcohol and belligerent young people was first created in by John Law and Rob Schmitt and organized by the Cacophony Society Courtesy of Scott Beale Pinball Party Productions Santas storm San Francisco during the Cacophony Society's first major SantaCon in The event now know as a nationwide phenomenon fueled heavily by alcohol and belligerent young people was first created in by John Law and Rob Schmitt and organized by the Cacophony Society Courtesy of Scott Beale Pinball Party Productions Show Caption of Santas storm San Francisco during the Cacophony Society's first major SantaCon in The event now know as a nationwide phenomenon fueled heavily by alcohol and belligerent young people was first created in by John Law and Rob Schmitt and organized by the Cacophony Society Courtesy of Scott Beale Pinball Party Productions Expand