Comments on: Chicago Pedway Pub Crawl

Chicago Pedway Pub Crawl

MCMikeNamara — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 12:30:12 -0800

So around five years ago, we had a seekrit outing in Chicago's wonderful but underloved pedway. I'm now organizing a slightly less secret Pedway Pub Crawl with complete with good-deed-doing and stickers.

What This Will Be

Something I've wanted to do for a really long time now (since at least this winter!)
A mini-donation drive for the Broadway Youth Center - price of admission to the crawl will be one of the suggested donation items below. These items make a huge difference in the lives of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness

What This Will (Probably) Not Be

A guided tour of the pedway - there will be multiple pub stops at locations in or connected to the pedway, and I can tell you what I know along the way. Don't expect a vast history, but you will also not get lost.
A pub crawl where you are expected or encouraged to get grossly shit-faced (I mean, that's your call, I'm not your dad, but we will respect the pedway and the establishments we visit.)*

Where Will We Go The various in-between locations are still being finalized (there are still some seekrits in the pedway) but we will definitely start at 5:00 pm Infield's with drinks and appetizers. Infield's is underneath Macy's, which is a good place to buy a donation item if you forgot day-of, as are any number of places downtown. We'll be there until at least 6, so if you can't make it right at 5, still come. We will probably end at Houlihan's. More details as they become finalized will probably be posted in thread. Or maybe it will be a SURPRISE! What About Those Donation Items, Again?

Personal hygiene items such as travel size lotions, toothpaste, deodorant, sanitary napkins and tampons, soap and lip balm.
New underwear (small to plus sizes), bras, and socks
Single ride Ventra cards to help participants with travel assistance.
Target, Walmart, Walgreens and CVS gift cards, especially in $4 denominations for prescriptions.

But Yeah, But Other Than Helping Make The World a Better Place, What Do I Get?

Appetizers off my plate
Camaraderie (guaranteed)
Drunk (if you want)
Pedway Trivia (have you met me?)
Prizes (maybe)
Stickers (definitely)

* For the record, I've never been with MetaFilter groups where this wasn't the norm. This bullet is for new people who have a preconceived notion of pub crawling and should not be perceived as a judgment on your past encounters with me. (you know who you are)

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 12:34:48 -0800

P.S. I am not 100% committed to this date but I do think Thursdays are best and this is the best Thursday I see in the future. Originally I had considered the 15th but decided Friday after work at bars downtown was not going to be very conducive to migration. And now you know.

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 13:55:01 -0800

P.P.S. This event has no official connection to Broadway Youth Center beyond me wanting to encourage people to give them stuff.

By: crush-onastick

crush-onastick — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:11:20 -0800

I AM SO EXCITED.

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:49:54 -0800

Mike, you are the best!

By: jessypie

jessypie — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 18:03:28 -0800

!!!! Yessss!!!! I will have to leave work early to get down there on time but I love this idea and am putting it on my calendar right now!

By: srboisvert

srboisvert — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 06:39:14 -0800

I will cut people for stickers. Be warned.

By: Fig

Fig — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 10:12:08 -0800

This sounds like so much fun! I'm in, will try to bring Mr Fig too!

By: crush-onastick

crush-onastick — Fri, 17 Apr 2015 12:22:24 -0800

Also, I am not paid to work on Friday!

By: Westringia F.

Westringia F. — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 06:17:36 -0800

This sounds awesome.

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 13:55:43 -0800

I just wanted to say that the reaction to has (a) made my week last week or so much better and (b) slightly terrified me. I better get my shit together. (Getting my shit together in this instance is 75% visiting bars, so I'm pretty sure I've got this covered.)

By: crush-onastick

crush-onastick — Tue, 21 Apr 2015 16:00:39 -0800

Mike, you got this covered. In other words, we won't worry about [blank]; you'll worry about [blank].

By: garlic

garlic — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 12:27:50 -0800

what if I'm bad at buying things, but good at writing checks? Can I still come along with a cash donation, or donate online to them here?

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Mon, 04 May 2015 10:26:03 -0800

Sure! You can donate online at the link garlic provides, or if you want to make a cash donation to me on the night of, that would be awesome (especially if, hypothetically, an organizer of the event works for an organization that matches employee donations to community partners, which BYC is )

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Mon, 04 May 2015 10:48:04 -0800

What should we do with physical donations? Bring them to you the night of? Like, hypothetically, if one of us went on target.com and bought one of every underpants and bra that was both cute and on sale because they have strong philosophical reasons for thinking poor and disadvantaged people deserve cute underpants and would therefore be carrying or making you carry a small bag of underpants all night, um. What then.

By: crush-onastick

crush-onastick — Mon, 04 May 2015 12:31:10 -0800

I plan to carry a small bag of socks and underpants (I fail at bras. Seriously. Ask me about the sales woman wrangling me and mine in and out of bras forEVER last Friday) with me ALL NIGHT LONG. But I can bring a collection bag and be responsible. I will carry that weight. Until it's time for me to leave. Then it's Mike's job.

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Mon, 04 May 2015 13:02:08 -0800

My hero.

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Tue, 05 May 2015 07:51:32 -0800

I thought that I had posted in the thread that I would carry cute underpants, but apparently I never got around to it. But I will also!

By: crush-onastick

crush-onastick — Tue, 05 May 2015 08:25:15 -0800

Also, I just realized that I'll be coming from work to this event. Which complicates the plan to wear my INCREDIBLY AWESOME NEW WIG. But I'll figure it out.

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Tue, 05 May 2015 15:05:52 -0800

I would also hold and store any wigs if it is necessary to making wig-wearing happen. (I hope this is least surprising news I have ever delivered.)

By: sldownard

sldownard — Sun, 10 May 2015 01:40:34 -0800

I am so jealous of you all right now. Pedway pub crawl!

By: Fig

Fig — Sun, 10 May 2015 17:53:56 -0800

Is there a rough itinerary? I definitely won't be able to get there at 5, but would like to catch up with the group some point in the early evening.

By: crush-onastick

crush-onastick — Sun, 10 May 2015 20:08:54 -0800

(Mike, it's just my most complicated wig and getting into it at work is not the most appealing prospect but I am committed. I'll make this work)

By: bibliogrrl

bibliogrrl — Tue, 12 May 2015 13:17:28 -0800

Ok so I am coming from work and hope to make it down by 6. WILL YOU STILL BE AT INNFIELDS?

By: Fig

Fig — Tue, 12 May 2015 13:37:15 -0800

Aaarrrgh, I am now not able to attend. Booooo. I'll send some $$ to the youth center in lieu of attending.

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Tue, 12 May 2015 13:47:14 -0800

Favorited for donation, not favorited for not attending. For those of you who may want/need to join us along the way: 1) We will definitely be at Infields until 6. 2) I'll be updating the location in the thread along the way, underground reception permitting. 3) My phone number is in my profile here so if all else fails and you miss us, call me! (Phone service tends to work better than data connection in my pedway experience.)

By: garlic

garlic — Wed, 13 May 2015 08:09:04 -0800

this also seems a great time to plug the way we use @mefichi twitter handle. Even if you don't twitter, you can setup a twitter account and have anything @mefichi says get texted to your phone. Then we responsibly DM @mefichi when we're on the move, and you get updates.

By: crush-onastick

crush-onastick — Wed, 13 May 2015 12:16:15 -0800

I am not-so-secretly hoping someone IRRESPONSIBLY tweets at mefichi (which happily auto corrects to "Medici")

By: jessypie

jessypie — Wed, 13 May 2015 17:19:35 -0800

I am super bummed to say that I have a conflict and I'm not going to be able to make it after all. For the past couple of weeks I've been trying to figure out how to do both, but it would have involved spending more time on public transit than I would have actually been able to spend with you all, and I would have had to leave before we even got to move on to a second location. So instead I have joined the club of people making donations to the youth center because they can't be there in person. Please do this again sometime, because I would love a pedway tour!

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Wed, 13 May 2015 19:22:47 -0800

There's a whole other half (or more) of the pedway to explore, so it's very possible this will happen again.

By: BevosAngryGhost

BevosAngryGhost — Wed, 13 May 2015 23:19:15 -0800

I'm in! Someone got fired yesterday (not me), so we can't work Wed or Thurs, so I'm back in Chicago. Government construction work is weird, yo.

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Thu, 14 May 2015 08:21:59 -0800

So here's my very rough schedule for tonight for those who are curious or may be wanting to meet us along the way. A stop between M Bar and the Hyatt has been removed because one bar probably couldn't accommodate our group's size and the lobby bar at the Fairmont, which was the back-up, is closed. I'm also extending our time at the first two locations to hopefully clear out the later bars from after work folks. This also means people who are worried about getting to Infield's by 6 can be super chill. As far as food options: There are appetizers (and more I believe) at Infield's. There's also a window at M Bar where you can get pizza from the place next door. (That place also sells Church's chicken I think, and I bet you can get some of that too.) 5:00-6:20 Infields 6:20-6:30 Travelling 6:30-7:20 M Bar Bites and Brew 7:20-7:40 Travelling 7:40-8:30 Hyatt* 8:30-8:45 Travel 8:45 - ??? Houlihan's * The bars at the Hyatt could be a clusterfuck based on the convention things happening there and may get skipped and go straight to Holihan's, but we'll see on the fly because ADVENTURE

By: crush-onastick

crush-onastick — Thu, 14 May 2015 09:15:40 -0800

Adventure! (we had a little song we used to sing about our perfect labrador retriever when he would escape from my dad: Adventure dog, adventure dog! Kinda big, kinda strong, dragging a big log. Adventure dog. which I am unlikely to sing on our adventure but which I will likely be humming all day in the office)

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Thu, 14 May 2015 10:51:56 -0800

Speaking of underpants, here's some location-relevant trivia for you all:

"The first hint of how popular jockey briefs would become came on January 19, 1935, when Chicago's Marshall Field's department store unveiled the new design in a window display. That weekend the city was slammed by the worst blizzard of the year--what was the point in displaying skimpy undies in long underwear weather? The store ordered the display taken down, but by the time noon rolled around the salespeople hadn't gotten around to it yet...and the store had sold more than 600 pairs. The display stayed up. "Marshall Field's sold 12,000 pairs that first week alone and would have sold more than that, had Cooper [Underwear Company] been able to supply them. Stores sold out of them so fast that the company chartered a special 'masculiner' airplane to fly the masculine support briefs to retailers as fast as the factory could make them."

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Thu, 14 May 2015 12:09:09 -0800

Here's the part where I admit that, despite walking past it almost every week day a few years ago in winter and still doing so more often than probably all of you, I didn't realize why it was called "Infield's" until posting this thread.

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Thu, 14 May 2015 12:39:58 -0800

I had a winter several years back where I walked by it every day as well. It was probably two months before I realized...stopped, stared, and cackled out a preternaturally loud HA! for all the pedway to hear. I regret nothing.

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Thu, 14 May 2015 14:13:42 -0800

Also, before I forget, those of you who are unable to make it, please MeFi mail or email me your physical address so I can get you your STICKERS!

By: bibliogrrl

bibliogrrl — Thu, 14 May 2015 14:49:09 -0800

I saw it for the first time last weekend (I am almost never in the pedway) and was like Goddamn I miss Marshall Fields. Oohh I should buy some Frangos tonight.

By: Iridic

Iridic — Thu, 14 May 2015 15:12:38 -0800

Won't be able to make this one after all. Have fun, and don't delve too deep!

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Thu, 14 May 2015 16:47:54 -0800

We are at M Bar and Bites now

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Thu, 14 May 2015 21:45:03 -0800

This meetup receives and ☆☆☆☆☆.

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Fri, 15 May 2015 07:57:23 -0800

Everyone who heard my caber toss story last night: this is a pic of me and my 14 year old caber toss champ brother on Scottish Games day.

By: eamondaly

eamondaly — Fri, 15 May 2015 08:23:58 -0800

I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO TRY CABER TOSSING!

By: phunniemee

phunniemee — Fri, 15 May 2015 08:26:47 -0800

FRIEND, I CAN HELP YOU WITH THAT!

By: MCMikeNamara

MCMikeNamara — Mon, 18 May 2015 09:47:16 -0800

So y'all I was really blown away by Thursday and have tried (unsuccessfully it turns out) to put my feelings into words since then, so I'm just going to stop trying and give you the facts: This idea that I had about wanting to do a pub crawl turned into a donation drive/fundraiser almost by accident. Not only did we have a good time AND explore the east part of the Pedway, we also collected three HUGE bags full of donations and raised, at least, $500 for Broadway Youth Center and Howard Brown. ("At least" because this amount does not include some of the on-line donations or any matching funds.) You are amazing. Thank you.

By: garlic

garlic — Wed, 20 May 2015 12:43:57 -0800

I got a thankyou letter for my online donation from Howard Brown today.