NoPo Anticon

Portland’s Santacon had gotten too big for it’s stockings. One year’s event topped 1000 Santas. Rumor has it that the counting went 998, 999, 1000…and after that counters gave up and just started using profanity.

Santacon had gone from a prank to an army of Santas, many of them fair-weather Santas looking for an entertainment experience; tourists; spectators screaming “Here we are now, entertain us!”. The organizers had no interest in babysitting hundreds of such people, so future events were decidedly harder to find out about, see the great Hillsboro Santacon.

In protest/ friendly mockery of the downtown Santacon situation, a rogue group of Santas started ANTI-con in North Portland. Santa started being protested by Bananas. For several years, Santa caroled the house of then-mayor Sam Adams.

Traditionally held the first Saturday in December

MEET AT PAUL BUNYAN!

santa_bunyan