SantaCon is Coming to Town, Dec 17!

You’d better not pout, you’d better not cry, break out that Santa costume, I’m telling you why -- SantaCon is coming to town this Saturday!

The annual bar crawl/run/Santa lookalike extravaganza is making its way back to the capital the weekend before Christmas. Stopping at four locations, the event -- split into a normal crawl and a separate Beijing hash event -- is guaranteed to be a day and evening full of good drink, merriment, and a bit of debauchery.

We spoke with event organizer Vincent Von Rock in the lead up to the event, to find out what SantaCon is all about and what’s in store this year.

So what is SantaCon exactly? What can people expect at an event like this?
In short, it’s a themed charity pub crawl derived from an international event started in San Francisco way back in 1994. Here in Beijing we added a seasonal twist to it with our LepreCon and HalloweenCon, so this, naturally, is the winter version of those events. Participants can expect lovely beverages from all venues we stop at, who will be providing special deals for those who come dressed as Santa!

How long has SantaCon been going in Beijing on and how did it get its start?
It started around ten years ago here in Beijing, but it was originally just a similar event to the international one organized by the Beijing Hash House Harriers. I first joined in 2020 when my friend Theresa was organizing it. After she moved to Shenzhen, I took over and started organizing it in cooperation with the Hash House Harriers.

What places will you be hitting up during the Con this year?
We have four lovely venues confirmed. We will start off at La Mansion Lyonnaise. From there we will be going to Le Sud, Great Leap #12 (the Gongti location), before finally stopping at Side Street Jiaodaokou for our charity raffle before heading to our secret after party location.

There will be deals a plenty at each location, starting with BOGO mulled wine at La Maison followed by BOGO tap beers at Le Sud, selected beers at happy hour prices and 15 percent off food for anyone dressed up at Great Leap, and all beers at happy hour prices at Side Street.

So there’s a normal pub crawl and a hash event. What sets the hash apart?
Firstly, the hash “trail” will be different and will be less of a set itinerary like the crawl. It even has a different name, "The Hash That Stole Christmas". The hash will also have more twists involved, with some stops happening outdoors at random points. The hash itself will be split into different trails for walkers and runners. You can read more about it here.

Any recommendations for people who want to take part or first timers?
Get your Santa outfit ready! But make sure you dress warm because we’ll be walking/running from one venue to another. Otherwise, it’s a great time to just enjoy socializing during this marvelous Christmas season.

How can people sign up?
People can add me on WeChat to join our SantaCon WeChat group. Or, you can just show up at the starting venue, La Maison Lyonnaise, on the day of the event. It’ll be difficult to miss a bunch of people dressed in Santa outfits!

SantaCon 2022 kicks off at 1.30pm at La Maison Lyonnaise this Saturday, Dec 17. To join the event, simply scan the QR code in the poster to add Vincent Von Rock on WeChat and you'll be put in the special SantaCon WeChat group.

READ: Jingle Bells Jingle Bells! Good Tidings of Christmas Meals and Deals

Images courtesy of Vincent Von Rock