2008 Ghent Summer Bar Tour

presented by Metromix.com

July 26th, 2008

HERE WE GO AGAIN! Join us at the 2008 Ghent Summer Bar Tour presented by Metromix.com, our immensely popular semi-annual pub crawl taking place on July 26th down Colley Avenue, 21st Street, and the surrounding locale in the historic midtown Norfolk neighborhood of Ghent. The scheduled start for the tour is 4:00 PM at The Taphouse Grill located at 931 W 21st St. The best news? It's all for a good cause. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Eastern Virginia. The latest details on the event are all highlighted below including who's participating, how to register, and what competitions are being held. Please note that registration is required and will be available before the event through our registration page. This event has a maximum capacity of 1000 participants so be sure to get registered early!

Sponsor Bars & Businesses

A very big THANK YOU to all of the bars, restaurants, sponsors, and media partners that have agreed to be a part of the fun and festivities at the 2008 Ghent Summer Bar Tour. Be sure to check out our billboard on Granby Street the next time you're out driving in the Ghent area.

Bar Tour Registration

Registration is required for participation in the 2008 Ghent Summer Bar Tour presented by Metromix.com. There are three methods by which you can register for this event:

Online before noon on Friday, July 25th with a credit card through Google Checkout*
In person at San Antonio Sams (1501 Colley Ave) on Friday, July 25th between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM with cash or check*
In person at The Taphouse Grill (931 W 21st St) on the day of the event between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM with cash or check*

* This event has a maximum capacity of 1000 participants - registration will not be available to any additional people once capacity has been reached

Please note that our registration fee structure has changed from that of previous events. The fee is set to automatically increase as the number of registered participants increases - the longer you wait, the more you will have to pay. The current cost of registration is $22.00. For your registration fee, you receive the following in your registration bag at the event:

Wristband*
T-shirt
Souvenir cup
Koozie
Magnet
Guide map of bar tour locations
Other promotional items

* Wristband serves as proof of participation to receive food and drink specials available only to registered participants at sponsoring establishments

Note that Google Checkout by default requires all items to be marked as shipped. However, we will not be shipping any registration materials. All of your registration materials must be picked up in person at one of the following two locations:

San Antonio Sams (1501 Colley Ave) on Friday, July 25th between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Registration booth at The Taphouse Grill (931 W 21st St) on Saturday, July 26th between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM

MUST BE 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER TO PARTICIPATE!

Day of Event

Our starting location is The Taphouse Grill, located at 931 W 21st St. The bar tour registration booth will be located outside of this establishment, barring any unforeseen circumstances. Please look for registration volunteers in solid color event shirts who can help guide you quickly through the registration process and get you crawling on your way.

Parking is available at any of the parking lots listed on destinationGhent.com (also shown on their Map of Ghent). Street parking may also be available in certain areas around the neighborhood. We do highly recommend that you carpool if traveling by car.

All of the bars participating in this tour are within walking distance of each other. If you plan to visit all of our stops, please plan to arrive at 4:00 PM and attend for all five hours. We regret that we are not able to provide a shuttle bus for this event similar to past events. Due to a change in policy, the arrangement we had previously with the City of Norfolk is no longer available to us.

It is with great pleasure that we announce The Boot (123 W. 21st St) as our ending location! The Boot has been awesome enough to create for us the block party atmosphere we’ve always wanted and thought would be fitting for our ending location and closing ceremony. They’ll be clearing out the restaurant, setting up a large outdoor tent, pulling up a fully loaded beer truck, and rocking some sweet bands in addition to all of the partying that always accompanies a bar tour ending! We can’t wait to see you there – this is going to be the best ending yet!

Please note that The Boot will be charging a cover on the night of the event for non-bar-tour patrons. Just show your wristband at their door and this cover charge will be waived for you as a bar tour participant. You’re welcome!

At the event, we ask that you please heed the State of Virginia's open container law and do not carry any alcoholic beverages with you off the premises of the establishments you are visiting on the tour. Citations are not covered with your registration fee!

And after the event, please GET HOME SAFELY! If you do not have a designated driver, please find one or let us know and we will work to make arrangements for you. Our popular pub crawls cannot continue to happen if participants are not responsible. Thank you!

Fun & Games

We are holding several competitions during this tour for those that seek adventures beyond simple "wining and dining". Below are details on these games. Prizes will be awarded for competition winners, some small ones along the way and other larger ones at our closing ceremony scheduled to be held shortly after 9:00 PM at The Boot.

If your place of business is interested in becoming the sole sponsor for one of these competitions, opportunities are still available. Simply visit our bar tour sponsor page, fill out the short commitment form, and be sure let us know what competition or other part of the bar tour you are interested in specifically sponsoring. Thanks - we hope to hear from you soon!

Texax Hold 'Em Tournament - Back by popular demand! Collect playing cards from SEVEN or more bar tour locations and have one of the five best poker hands (or one worst poker hand) to win great prizes! Volunteers at each location you visit will let you pick ONE playing card from a shuffled deck and will then place a corresponding sticker on your map. Bring your poker game card with you to the closing ceremony at the end location where competition winners will be announced and prizes awarded.
Bar Tour Bingo - Visit ALL participating locations on the bar tour and receive a prize! Volunteers at each location will place a sticker on your map indicating you visited that stop. Prizes can be picked up at the end location starting at 8:00 PM until supplies run out.
50/50 Cash Raffle - Win back your bar tab! The winner takes home half of the money from ticket sales (the other half goes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation). Raffle tickets will be sold at the registration booth as well as at the closing ceremony. Bring your tickets with you to the end location where the winner will be announced and cash prize awarded.
Prize Raffle - Win cool prizes! All participants are automatically entered to win non-cash raffle prizes. Just make sure to come to the end location and see if the number on your wristband matches the ones we pull from the raffle box.

Special thanks to all of the local businesses who have been so kind to make donations of products and/or services in support of this charity event. If you have a product or service (or know a business that does) and are willing to donate it as a competition prize, please contact us through this site.

Supported Organization

All proceeds from this event will go directly to the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Eastern Virginia. This local Make-A-Wish chapter serves all of Hampton Roads, the Peninsula, Williamsburg, Emporia, Franklin, York, James City, Sussex, Isle of Wight, Surry, Greensville & Southampton counties and the Eastern Shore. The mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation® is to grant wishes to children between the ages of 2½ and 18 who have life threatening medical conditions. The organization provides a bright moment of hope, strength, and joy for a child in what can sometimes be a dark routine of treatments, doctors and hospital visits. Many thanks to the Make-A-Wish staff for their support in planning this event as well as previous events.