Hundreds of people clad in red and white crowd into San Francisco’s Union on Saturday for SantaCon, an annual toy drive and pub crawl. A similar gathering was held in the Mission District.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
SantaCon attendees revel in Christmas spirits in San Francisco’s Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Howard Severson chews on a cigar during SantaCon in Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
The Grinch joins the crowd at SantaCon in Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Jim Reilly, attending in what he believes to be his 18th annual SantaCon, displays a disco ball necklace during the Union Square gathering.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Carolers sing songs of the season during the annual SantaCon in Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Noel Javier displays a sign to spread Christmas cheer at SantaCon in Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
SantaCon drew a crowd of hundreds to San Francisco’s Union Square under perfect blue skies.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
A SantaCon participant takes a photo from a party bus at Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
SantaCon attendees are reflected in a pair of sunglasses in San Francisco’s Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
A San Francisco Fire Department crew member drops off a bag of basketballs at the agency’s annual toy drive during SantaCon in Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Rena displays a bag of candy canes for attendees of SantaCon in Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
SantaCon attendees gather around the 80-foot Christmas tree in San Francisco’s Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
A SantaCon attendee checks his phone during the yearly gathering in San Francisco’s Union Square.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
In one corner of Union Square on Saturday, a Pikachu dressed as Santa drifted gift wrap-covered toy cars in circles. North of the nearly 80-foot Christmas tree, a band of Santas headbanged to Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” while nearby a Grinch snapped dozens of photos with adoring fans on his birthday.
Under perfect blue skies, hundreds turned out for the annual San Francisco SantaCon, a beloved holiday romp that has sparked best friendships, offered an excuse to day-drink and helped teach a toddler to become a “party animal.” Participants are also encouraged to channel the true essence of Santa and bring a gift to donate to the San Francisco Fire Department’s toy drive.
Amid the festive chaos, Roxana Tejada-Joya, 48, celebrated her third friendship anniversary with Kerry Easthope, 57, dressed in Santa reds. The day of SantaCon two years ago, Tejada-Joya asked Easthope — then just a participant in her cycling class — to join her later in the Santa takeover, suspecting her acquaintance would pass.
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Easthope, however, had always wanted to attend SantaCon and delivered an easy yes.
The SantaCon toy drive and pub crawl draws hundreds of revelers to San Francisco’s Union Square on Saturday. A similar celebration was held in the Mission District.
Stephen Lam / S.F. Chronicle
“Sometimes I would happen to be over in San Francisco on this day, and I’d see all these people walking around in Santa outfits,” said Easthope, who along with Tejada-Joya lives in Walnut Creek. “I thought, ‘That looks so fun. I want to do that. What am I doing in this car with my kids?’”
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The pair met up and forged “one of the most beautiful friendships you can think of,” said Tejada-Joya, who paused to hug her friend. A seven-year SantaCon veteran, Tejada-Joya was itching for the band to emerge, fretting that one of her favorite acts might not appear this year.
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Minutes after she voiced her disappointment, Santas wielding tubas, saxophones, trumpets and clarinets took the stage, and the crowd sang along to holiday favorites such as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
For Toni Roberts, 28, this year’s weather was a welcome reprieve. When a major storm and San Francisco’s first ever tornado warning pounded the region with heavy rain and winds for SantaCon 2024, Roberts fled to the Apple store to take cover. She continued to dodge the raindrops to participate in the SantaCon after-party, where celebrants pack into Union Square bars to day-drink because “Who doesn’t love a barhop?”
Costumed SantaCon participants line up to enter a bar near San Francisco’s Union Square.
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Roberts, now in her eighth year of shapeshifting into Santa, has taken part in the tradition in both San Francisco and Australia, where she previously lived.
“It was summer, so, yeah, it was pretty hot,” she said. “But it’s the same thing. Everybody dresses up, you walk with the group, and you just have fun. There’s really no rules.”
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Santas were convening across the nation Saturday, from Rhode Island to Texas to Washington, with a few Canadian, German and Puerto Rican Santas stepping briefly out of myth and into the daylight. Bars in San Francisco’s Mission District also hosted SantaCon on Saturday.
Among the sea of Santas in Union Square were a handful of reindeer, a giant panda and a smattering of elves — a dangerous costume to don, as the creatures are traditionally “abused at SantaCon,” the event’s website jokes.
A SantaCon attendee in a reindeer costume hands out candy canes from a party bus.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
Of course, there was at least one Grinch — perhaps the most popular character at Saturday’s event. Shawn Gementera, who opted to become the grumpy, grizzled and green holiday antihero, spent his birthday and first SantaCon posing for “at least” 100 photos with fans. He twerked, smiled deviously and tickled kids’ noses with the long tufts of hair sprouting from his fingers, all the while having the time of his life.
Relative to age, 2-year-old Rusty J. Snider may have been the most experienced SantaCon attendant in the crowd. This year is the toddler’s third SantaCon, an experience his father, Brian, hopes will shape him into a worldly, extroverted party animal.
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Rusty, grabbing the legs of his father and a near stranger, stopped for a high five before marching along to his next experience.