Yesterday's weather was nippy, but the sun was shining, and by most measurements the Holiday Fest Jingle Walk should be judged a success. I was joined at the Keg by the inimitable Tony Beard, and we dispensed eleven growlers of NABC samples to the jingle walkers.
There were glitches (tree light-up timing being one), which generally occur when people are trying to accomplish something. It looked to me like Courtney, Jala and the other DNA volunteers were busting their buns to keep their show on the road, and they're to be commended for the effort.
When the Jingle Walk finished, the Holly Jolly Beer Trolley began circulating downtown. The trolley itself is owned by the city of Jeffersonville, which evidently acquired two and maybe more of them in an abortive effort to shuttle people from the Indiana shore to Yum Center for ballgames. Matt McMahan, owner of Irish Exit, Warehouse and Dillinger's, did the legwork, and the participating bars and restaurants pitched in on the cost of the trolley.
There were some glitches ... and these generally occur when people are trying to accomplish something.
Taken as a whole, Friday and Saturday were good days for downtown New Albany. Plaid Friday (which I favor) and Small Business Saturday (less so, owing to the AmEx connection) both provided opportunities to educate consumers about the importance of independent small business and the burgeoning Buy Local movement. Holiday Fest, Jungle Walk and the Holly Jolly Beer Trolley brought people downtown, and the pubs and eateries benefited.
In fact, negativity was confined almost entirely to a solitary newspaper reporter. But why permit one man's disgruntlement to spoil the party? After all, when people are trying to accomplish something, someone's always on the outside looking in.
