krampusnachtdc

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SAVE THE DATE! Krampusnacht DC presents KRAMPUSFEST! Saturday December 14 at Wunder Garten (@wundergartendc)! Starts at 7 PM. Stay tuned to @krampusnachtdc for updates and announcements!

📸: Devon Rowland (@devonrowlandphotography)

#krampus #krampusnachtdc #wundergarten #krampusiscoming #krampusmaske #halloweendc #noma

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Hey Krampus lovers...

We are still here!!!

Krampusnacht DC is a small volunteer run group of DMV folks who love the Krampus folklore and enjoy celebrating the winter season while doing good through fundraising efforts. We are thankful you have celebrated with us through the years.

BUT WAIT. This is not a goodbye post, please read on.

This is a commitment to ensure we have an experiential event for everyone. We recognize the combination of transitions within our organizing committee, challenges in locating a new host space, and our community's continued recovery from the Covid pandemic's impact. We cannot yet bring Krampusnacht back as in years past - there will not be a nighttime event this year.

Don’t be dismayed…there is a Krampus sighting on December 16th - announcement coming soon.

AND…we are looking forward to a bigger Krampusnacht in 2024.

WE NEED YOU!

Join our planning organizing team! OR do you have ideas for a new venue or location to host all the Krampus revelers?

DM or email us Krampusnachtdc@gmail.com

We plan on seeing all of you creatures in the near future!

- Krampusnacht DC organizers

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The video of Krampusnacht DC presents Krampustag at DC Brau is here! Featuring Batalá Washington, Cherokee Rose, and London St. Juniper! All proceeds benefit the Wanda Alston Foundation, the only housing program in Washington, D.C. solely dedicated to offering pre-independent transitional living and support services to homeless or at-risk LGBTQ youth ages 18 to 24 in all eight wards.

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The video of Krampusnacht DC at Wunder Garten is here! Featuring Peculiarity Productions, Christian Kloc, and Jim Dandy! And of course KRAMPUS!

All proceeds benefit the Wanda Alston Foundation, the only housing program in Washington, D.C. solely dedicated to offering pre-independent transitional living and support services to homeless or at-risk LGBTQ youth ages 18 to 24 in all eight wards.

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Once the little Krampuses are nestled all snug in their beds, join us for KRAMPUSNACHT AT WUNDER GARTEN!

Same great H Street Krampuslauf flavor, but at a spacious NoMa beer garden!

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We're BACK, baybeeee!

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Save the date: Krampusnacht DC 2022 is Saturday December 10!

More details to follow...

[krampusnachtdc]

Greetings Krampus Revelers! 

Last year, we made the difficult decision to cancel Krampusnacht DC 2020. While we had hoped to return this year, the rising numbers of Delta Variant cases, uncertainty about the timeline for children’s vaccinations, and concern over a pandemic resurgence has led Krampusnacht DC to decide it is still not safe encourage a large crowd gathering.

Though Krampusnacht DC will not be on H Street this year we will continue to give back with a virtual fundraiser for The Wanda Alston Foundation (https://www.wandaalstonfoundation.org/), which provides support to homeless and at-risk LGBTQI youth in Washington, D.C.  Stay tuned to our social media for more details. 

Krampusnacht DC would like to thank everyone, from Saint Nicholas, Mrs. Claus, Santa’s Cause DC, the performers and volunteers, our hosts at Gallery O, and all of our sponsors. Krampusnacht DC would be nothing without the support of the vibrant, generous and community minded H St corridor businesses and beyond that have been the backbone of our fundraising efforts over the years - and they have had a devastating pandemic. We are grateful to them and ask that you please support them in any way you can as we continue to manage this pandemic. 

Finally, a special thanks to you, the Krampus lovers, who have made this event so spectacular over the past decade. 

St. Nicholas, Krampus, and all of us at Krampusnacht DC encourage everyone to continue to stay healthy and be good! Krampus still knows where you sleep and might get hungry for a light snack of bad behavers in the middle of his hibernation.

- Krampusnacht DC

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Today Arnold Schwarzenegger released a powerful and personal video message in which he reflects upon the chaos and violence of the past week. This appears to be difficult for him, as he is forced to confront the demons of his past and memories of his childhood in Austria.

However, it is ultimately a hopeful message of unity and strength. And the whole time he's holding Conan's Atlantean sword, which itself an important and possibly contentious signifier because of Robert E. Howard and John Milius, and then at the very end he finally refers to it in a way that, at least for those of us of a certain generation, is inspiring and empowering.

What does this have to do with Krampus and Krampusnacht DC?

Like the former Governor of California, Krampus also has its origins in Austria, although Krampusnacht is also celebrated in parts of Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic as well as increasingly in America.

What does Krampus have to do with fascism? Krampusnacht is not Kristallnacht, after all. In fact, in the aftermath of the 1932 election in Austria, the Krampus tradition was prohibited by the Dollfuss regime under the clerical fascist Fatherland's Front (Vaterländische Front) and the Christian Social Party (Christlichsoziale Partei, CS). Soon after Hitler's invasion of Austria in 1938, the Nazis banned both the Fatherland's Front and CS. However, after HItler was defeated and WWII ended, many of those former Fatherland's Front and CS Party members were able to make their way back into politics and the prevailing narrative became that Austria was a victim of the Nazis rather than a collaborator. And once again Krampus was the target of Austrian fascists.

From the Time Magazine article "AUSTRIA: Throw Out Krampus":

In a leaflet called Krampus Is an Evil Man, Dr. Ernst Kotbauer [the head of Vienna's kindergarten system] urged that his children be freed of the frightful cross-examiner. A Vienna daily rushed to Dr. Kotbauer's support. "There is too much fear in the world already," it said, "unemployment, high taxes, not to mention the atom bomb. Let's begin by throwing out Krampus."

It wasn't until the end of the 20th Century that Krampus would re-emerge, experiencing a popular revival that continues to this day. This coincided with Austria finally beginning to accept responsibility for its role in WWII and the Holocaust and officially abandoning the "Victim Theory" in the mid 2000s.

Today, Krampus is everywhere in pop culture around the world, especially on the internet. His popularity might have diminished a little since the late 2000s -early 2010s but his presence can still felt. And as the Krampus tradition travels to more cities and cultures, it changes and incorporates local traditions and attitudes. Krampusnacht DC is an explicitly inclusive, non-denominational, and diverse celebration of the Krampus tradition as well as a charity event. Our organizers are teachers, artists, activists, and social workers who live in the DC Metro region so it's no mistake that it reflects our identity and values.

With other American Krampus celebrations, your mileage may vary and often Krampus is seen with explicitly Teutonic or even Odinistic imagery. This isn't to say that Krampus has become co-opted by American fascists like other symbols such as the Hawaiian Shirt or Mac Tonight, but the fact is that Krampus at its core is a threatening, scary figure designed to teach morality through fear. While Austrian fascists might not have liked the primitive and grotesque manner in which Krampus went about it, terrorizing others into compliance is an integral core value of fascism writ large.

On January 6, 2021, a mob of neo-nazis, proud boys, and other assorted extremists stormed the Capital Building while Congress was in session. The assault left 5 dead and counting, hundreds injured, and shook the world to its core. All of this in the midst of the deadliest week of the Covid-19 pandemic so far.

Now is not the time for cloying, meaningless statements of healing and prayer and support. Now is the time for reflection on everything that lead to this as well as our history and culture. Most importantly, it is time to make very clear that bigotry and treason has no place here.

Krampusnacht DC is a safe space for all races, genders, sexualities, and creeds. There is no place for Nazis, Proud Boys, “Boogooloos”, Aryans, Odinists, or any form of bigotry or fascism.

Additionally there is zero tolerance for any kind of racist conspiracy theories, “fake news,” or alternative facts. We believe in free speech but not hate speech.

Our diversity is our strength and it is stronger than your hate. We are Krampusnacht DC. We are DC. We are America.

Thank you.

- Krampusnacht DC

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Happy Holidays from all of us at Krampusnacht DC! Stay safe and we hope to see you soon.

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We made WTOP!

Check out this excellent article for background on the Krampus tradition as well as a little more detail about what Krampusnacht DC is about as well as our plans for the future. 

Happy Holidays and Stay Safe!

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It is with great regret that we announce the cancellation of Krampusnacht DC 2020. 

While an outdoor event, the size of our venue makes it impossible to provide the appropriate social distancing and guarantee the safety of participants and performers.

We considered a virtual event but what makes Krampusnacht DC special is being in the same space with other participants. While featuring brilliant performances by Batalá and Peculiarity Productions, Krampusnacht DC itself is not a performance. It's an experience and one that can't be done justice over Zoom.

Please feel free to celebrate Krampusnacht safely, at home or outdoors, and tag us. There's no contest, no prize, it just might lift the spirits of the teachers, social workers, and artists who pour their time and energy into cobbling this event together every year.

As 2020 has already devastated DC nightlife the best thing that any of us can do is support our longtime sponsors and performers so that they may continue to weather this storm:

Support Our Sponsors

Support Our Performers

Be safe, take care of yourselves and each other, and we look forward to seeing you all in person when this is all finally over.

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Support Our Sponsors!

Cusbah South Indian Spice Bar serves authentic Pakistani and North Indian cuisine while providing an atmosphere rooted in multi-cultural America.

A longtime Krampusnacht DC sponsor (and Krampus watering hole), sadly Cusbah announced it would be closing its doors for good on November 15, 2020. Until then, it is open for carryout, delivery, and its patio is open Wednesday-Sunday for socially distanced dining. Don’t miss out on the unique and delicious offerings from one of the original pillars of H Street cuisine.

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Celebrate #FlashbackFriday and #FollowFriday with this video of longtime Krampusnacht DC sponsor Pie Shop DC, which has been voted “Best Pie” by Washington City Paper for TEN YEARS! Pie Shop DC is open for carry out and delivery, with weekend delivery available to NoVA and MoCo. 

Be sure to follow @pieshopdc on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for hours, menu, and delivery information

!www.pieshopdc.comVideo by Isaac Nejako of The Palace Productions

#pieshop #hstne #saveourstages #krampusnachtdc #livemusic #krampus 

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Whatever your plans are this weekend, Krampus wants YOU to wear a mask! #July4th2020

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#blackouttuesday #pausetheshow