The rural Costa Rican town of Paraíso is about to get a dose of Christmas early with its very own Santacon, a glorified bar crawl where the patrons dress exclusively in Santa outfits.
Started in Portland in the early 90s, Santacons have brought drunken, Christmas-themed chaos to cities around the world. This year, the owners of Brewha Costa Rica in the Orosi Valley are bringing Santacon to Costa Rica.
The hostel’s owners, Zach Boyd and Jaclyn Weintraub, are both Santacon veterans. As a Portland native, Boyd’s Santa suit has gotten plenty of wear in his hometown, and he and Weintraub both participated in a Seoul, Korea, Santacon last year.
Although Weintraub left both her Santa suit and reindeer costume at home in Canada (unacceptable!), she still believes Santacon will be a success.
“Last year we had an awesome Christmas party, and we really want to come up with a way to top it,” she said. “Santacon is one of the things we really miss about being at home.”
The event will kick off in the afternoon at Brewha with homebrewed beer (a Brewha specialty) and a special holiday mulled wine. At 8 or 9 p.m., the group will hit the bars in Paraíso. Attendees are to wear “red and white and Christmas-y things.”
Can’t make it to Paraíso this weekend? The Pacific beach town of Sámara is also hosting a Santacon Dec. 21.
To Attend:
Contact the hosts at 2574-4407 or email BrewhaCostaRica@gmail.com.
