Drinking plus Santa=Santarchy

Santa and an elf at the Crown Room

At first, people aren't sure what's happening.

They see a Santa. Then another. And another. Then there's suddenly about 150 men and women in various types of Kriss Kringle costume, wandering Old Town Scottsdale, getting tipsy and handing out candy canes.

They spread holiday cheer, sing bawdy carols and have a rollicking good time while shocking, amusing and bewildering the public.

That's the gist of Santarchy, a counterculture phenomenon in which men and women who prefer to remain largely anonymous organize a holiday event that celebrates the spirit of the season in a radically unexpected way.

This Saturday, look for them—or join them. The Valley's second annual Santarchy will start at 5 p.m. in the parking garage on the northwest corner of 3rd Avenue and Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale. Anyone in costume can join.

It's "a gathering of lunatics with no designated leader or person responsible (liable) for anything," says one participant, who, like everybody else, goes only by "Santa."

Santarchy is the brainchild of the Cacophony Society, a group that defines itself as "a randomly gathered network of free spirits united in the pursuit of experiences beyond the pale of mainstream society."

Translation: flash mobs, shopping cart "Idiotarod" and pranks where people dress up as clowns to ride public transport.

In 1994, the San Francisco Cacophony Society decided to "play with the archetypal image of Santa using a barrage of many Santas (hopefully) inducing a psychedelic reaction from the public," its Web site says.

Santarchy, also called Santacon, has since spread from Boulder to Beijing, loosely organized by local Cacophony chapters in each city.

As the "anarchy" part of the name suggests, Santarchy has no official leaders or philosophy. Members on the e-mail lists bristle at the term "movement" and insist the gatherings are not a protest against the commercialization of Christmas.

"Really, it's just a bunch of Santas getting together to have a good time," the Web site says.

Festivities might include drive-by caroling, shaved ice "snowball" fights, candy-cane jousting, or pole dancing.

But it invariably involves a bar crawl.

Here's how it works: The person who runs the Web site announces a meeting place, and participants enter their cellphone number to receive texts about where the group is heading next. Who's sending the texts? Santa.

 "Last year we had two mini buses and hit Old Town Scottsdale and a few other places in Phoenix and Tempe (I think  . . .  it's hard to tell when you are on a futon in the back of the bus and distracted by a bunch of drunk Santas)," one female Santa says.

Once they're at the bars, another Santa says, they do "the things that Santa would be expected to do. Plus dance."

Who participates? "Humans of all sorts," one Santa says.

"Fun, open people who like to spread cheer. People who own or can borrow red suits," another says.

Despite the chaos, Santarchy does have rules. Costumes are mandatory but can vary around a yuletide theme, such as sexy Mrs. Claus, Nacho Libre Santa, or the gingerbread man. And though a few naughty Kriss Kringles have, indeed, gotten arrested, Santa's minions do not condone vandalism, violence or rudeness to children.

Just like Santa, they really are about spreading Christmas cheer. In a bacchanalian way.

"One of the places we went to last year was completely vacant until 50 Santas showed up," a female Santa says. "The business owners loved it, as we helped to bring in other folks. At another location, we met a gal who practically cried. She had recently moved to the area, didn't have a lot of support and said she hadn't felt the magic of the season until seeing and meeting a crowd of smiling Santas."

"People driving by would get out of cars and come and pose with the Santas," another Santa says.

"I gave out little bouquets of mistletoe and people kept kissing me. But that was the point," says Santa, 30, a math teacher.

As one Santa says, "Santa is a benevolent human who only desires to spread happiness and joy across the world. Why wouldn't you want to participate and be Santa?"