Photo by Colin Young-Wolff, LA Weekly
Ever heard of SantaCon? If not, you should probably look it up after reading this post. As I walked down Hollywood Boulevard this morning, it hit me that this past Saturday was not a dream, as 200+ Angelenos and I dressed up as Santa Claus and all his helpers and foes, as we traversed So-Cal.
Even I was a bit apprehensive about the whole idea when one of my friends originally told me about the event. A little weird to play Halloween dress up for Christmas, right? Maybe - but it was damn fun starting off at our meeting headquarters, Hooters of Hollywood and Mel's Diner, for a few rounds of early morning drinks in preparation for an interesting day to come. Next came the flash mob of hundreds of Santas strolling over to the Hollywood and Highland center for Christmas caroling and what totally reminded me of a scene plucked out of Avatar, as we bowed to the 50-foot Christmas tree in praise of the Holidays with bewildered tourists looking on.
Then it was over to a few more bars in the Hollywood area until our sleigh aka the Metro Red Line was departing for Union Station. Surprisingly enough, 'Fuck Santa!' was not one of the first things we heard after departing the train, but actually salsa music as it aired from a local park full of dancers and Santas grooving to the warm sounds of the Caribbean. Without a doubt, it was my favorite part of the day as people gathered around clapping to the beat and humming along to the melodies - I even got a few, 'damn, you're a good dancer!,' from a few people as I left the park dripping with sweat in route to the next bar, Angels City Brewery.
It was about 5:30 PM when we made it to the brewery, which was actually a warehouse full of artisans looking to sell some of their creations, only to be mobbed by the hundreds of us. Eeek! Some Santas were shuffling, other Santas were swinging and some Santas were falling...from a few too many drinks, as we danced for a few more hours. At 7 PM, I noticed it was time for me to head back home and although there were several hours more of the event, I looked back, smiling about the great day I had.
Finally, it was back to the sleigh for me, when an underprivileged person asked me for some change.
What were his words after I gave him a few dollars?
"Thanks Santa, but your shirt is dirty - you should probably get it cleaned."
O' Hollywood.
Photo by visualkaos
P.S. I managed to cross off more than a few goals from my bucketlist.
