UNITED STATES, USA — Bartenders across the United States are reaching way to the back (or front, in some tertiary markets) of the closet for prohibition era garb on this, the 86th anniversary of the repeal of prohibition.
We threw on a fedora and went to our local celebration.
“We started doing this party in, I don’t know, like 2010. Back then bar people was so stoked on the whole speakeasy thing,” an event coordinator told us while juicing grapefruits in a sequined 1920s era gown, faux fur boa draped around her neck. “To be honest, it’s got a real getting-the-band-back-together vibe these days. Like Motley Crue suiting up and touring in 2020.”
We spoke with the event organizer about how they plan to shake things up this year.
“We’re planning something really special this year. To liven things up, we’ve planned an authentic police raid,” she told us while stacking coupes into a pyramid. “At about 11pm, we’ll call in an anonymous noise complaint to the police. It’s going to be brilliant.”
EDITOR’S UPDATE: At 11:17PM, when a police officer arrived on the scene, the organizer we spoke to (a 2009 Bachelor of Theater Studies graduate) ran to the parking lot screaming “The coppers! Scatter, it’s a raid! I can’t go back to the slammer!”
The dispatched officer reportedly told everyone to quiet down and left the premises.
Continue to follow The Daily Expo on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to for coverage of next year’s “Bootlegger Tunnel” theme in the basement of the venue.