UnsilentaCon. It could happen. (Photos: Konstantin Sergeyev/Taylor Davidson. Illustration: Daniel Maurer)
By now you know that SantaCon — the annual invasion of Fratty Old St. Nicks — is set to go down Dec. 14. What you likely don’t know is that on that same day, another holiday flash mob, the roving boom-box orchestra known as Unsilent Night, will be moving through the same hemisphere. Is it possible these two forces could converge into something more menacing than any sharknado?
Looking at our holiday-flash-mob map (okay fine, this DNA Info item) we see that SantaCon is expected to start at Tompkins Square Park and move down to the Lower East Side by noon. Police believe the procession will move to Williamsburg, but past patterns indicate that Santas are likely to linger in the East Village past sundown.
At 6:45 p.m., meanwhile, waves of Phil Kline followers will swell at the Washington Square Park arch, where they’ll be given boomboxes or they’ll use their iPhones to play an ethereal ambient music piece in unison (Kline’s recording will be livestreaming this year — a far cry from when everyone used boomboxes 22 years ago). They’ll then move at speeds of approximately 2 MPH toward Tompkins Square Park.
Chances are very high that the stream of crunchy Villagers gathered for Unsilent Night could be sucked into the SantaCon funnel, especially as they proceed down St. Marks Place, where they could hit sudden pockets of crapulence or even a wall of blustery windbags in Santa suits.
We’ll be monitoring Kline’s brand new Unsilent Night website for developments. In the meantime, stay safe, everyone!