"You better watch out, as Santacon is back on Saturday. But many SF bars are actually rolling out the red carpet to welcome the Santas, a pretty remarkable culture shift for this jolly old event that had gotten too blitzened. The naughty list will surely larger on Saturday, as the fat, bearded Bay To Breakers known as SantaCon, will draw an expected 12,000 people red-suited revelers. The flash mob of Santas will begin congregating in Union Square at 12 noon,"
"DiBell took over organizing the SF SantaCon more than 10 years ago when he saw how it became defined by drunken and boorish behavior. Bars saw it as the bane of their existence. They hated Santas. They hated SantaCon and everything going along with it. And they wanted absolutely nothing to do with it, Santa Tom told SFist this week. Those voices from ten years ago are still haunting me. These are people who have told the city they would like us to go away."
SantaCon returns to San Francisco on Saturday with an expected 12,000 red-suited revelers. The flash mob will congregate in Union Square at noon and is likely to migrate toward neighborhoods with many bars. Santacon developed a reputation for broken bottles, vomit, and urine, prompting bans at many bars and national criticism, including a 2013 New York Times op-ed and 2012 Eater SF "NO SANTAS" signage. Organizer Santa Tom DiBell, a retired Marine and former mall Santa, took over more than ten years ago to counter drunken, boorish behavior. Some bars have shifted to welcoming Santas, signaling a culture change despite ongoing day-drinking.
Read at sfist.com
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