Thousands of Drunken Santas Invade New York City, Overwhelm New Apple Store, at SantaCon 2011

They were everywhere.

Thousands of boozed-up Santas, reindeer, elves and other Christmas icons invaded New York City Saturday for SantaCon 2011 -- the annual Running of the Santas through the bars and BBQ joints of NYC.

Half of the Santas started out in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn at 10 a.m., (see video by Karl Junkersfeld at the Brooklyn Heights Blog) and drank and sang their way through six bars open at that ungodly hour: the Water Street Restaurant, Galapagos Art Space, Pub One, Rebar, 68 Jay Street and Superfine.

Then they made their sloppy way over the Brooklyn Bridge to join the Manhattan Santas at South Street Seaport, where tourists thought they had stepped into an alternate North Pole universe.

The crowds of zany Santas intensified in waves as the day wore on. Pubs and BBQ joints had long Santa lines. Rick's Cabaret and Striptease was overwhelmed. Thousands were  heard singing dirty Christmas carols outside the main branch of the New York Public Library.


Tens of thousands invaded Grand Central Station, where they tried to take in the huge new Apple Store, which just opened Friday.

While the majority of the revelers wore Santa costumes, other personified the spirits of domesticated elves, dreidles, sugarplum fairies, biblical figures and Christmas trees.

And other things.

After a day of non-stop debauchery, one tired Santa heads home.

The Brooklyn Cacophony Society was the original sponsor of Santacon in 1998. The secretive Society said in 2005 that SantaCon is: “a not-for-profit, nonpolitical, non-religious demented Santa Clause convention. We do it for no reason. SantaCon happens in major cities all over the world.” (Here's a photo from that first SantaCon.)

SantaCon participants donate cans of food to charity and patronize bars that give a percentage of their proceeds to Toys for Tots.

UPDATE: Now that hipsters have discovered SantaCon, is it sooo over? Gothamist 

More photos of Santacon 2011:
SantaCon Revelers Say 'Ho, Ho, Ho!' DNAinfo
Photos at Gothamist
Drunk Santas Take Over NYC for Christmas: Daily Mail
Photos at NBC

Past Articles:
- You Better Watch Out: SantaCon Is Coming to Town
- SantaCon 2010

Photos by MK Metz
Video by TechServeUSA

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