We locate our official SantaCon guide for the day, Christopher Hardwick, a 39-year-old actor and Burning Man aficionado, who\u2019s dressed as his alter ego, Dandy Cane: forest green tux, matching top hat, a beard full of emerald glitter. After he finishes judging an impromptu (and relatively mild) twerking contest between two twentysomething lady Santas, the bullhorn-wielding, self-described \u201cfunmeister\u201d hands Porges and me our complimentary VIP fast passes, which will allow us to cut the line at any of the 58 bars, clubs, and restaurants participating in SantaCon this year. (A VIP ticket normally runs $360.)<\/p>\n
Hardwick, who\u2019s based in Manhattan, introduces us to a group of his friends and associates, including Shelton Lindsay, a 38-year-old bearded individual wearing a giant pickle costume. \u201cI love anything that\u2019s sort of like a debauched, hedonistic expression of joy, especially one that starts early in the morning,\u201d says Lindsay, a \u201cqueer multi-disciplinary creative\u201d<\/a> and SantaCon veteran from Brooklyn. \u201cTo be clear, I\u2019m also, like, mostly sober.\u201d<\/p>\n I ask Hardwick about the public perception of SantaCon, which, it should be noted, benefits a variety of charities. \u201cToday, 1010 WINS finally said only nice things about SantaCon,\u201d he says, referring to the local AM news station. \u201cI\u2019ve listened to it for literally the last 20 years, and they would just bash it, saying it\u2019s filled with drunks and fighting people. But the narrative has changed.\u201d<\/p>\n