First Taco Walk, now 1 Night Stand. It's not derogatory to suggest that no idea is safe from being hijacked by Develop New Albany.

The reason why I don't write fiction is that real life is endlessly bizarre, so let's take a look at the next purloined event from the foot-shot specialists. It's called 1 Night Stand, and if this term sounds weirdly familiar to you, keep reading.

The 1 Night Stand originated in 2009 as an idea minted by Jala Miller, a civic-minded private citizen. She proceeded to organize a sequel, or maybe two, before the notion ran its course.

Now DNA is bringing back an event that wasn't ever their intellectual property to begin with, though as we've seen so depressingly with the Taco Walk (are various walks and crawls the only thing these people can think to do?), no one at DNA seems bothered much by the blatant pilferage, and elected officials merely shrug.

Details
We’re excited to be bringing back the 1 Night Stand! This is an event that was held in Downtown years ago and we’re looking forward to reviving it. This will be a Downtown New Albany Pub Crawl. Participants will pre-purchase a wristband with drink tickets along with a t-shirt and on the day of the event, will choose where to spend their drink tickets at participating locations. We anticipate this being a big draw to Downtown during the summer and a fun event showcasing our local bar/restaurants. Any questions please email developnainfo@gmail.com or message us on Facebook. Any derogatory comments will be deleted.

Boy oh boy, those last lines: "Any questions please email developnainfo@gmail.com or message us on Facebook. Any derogatory comments will be deleted."

Our vanguard of Gahanesque party planning expertise is getting a bit touchy, don't you think? And yet, I persist, safe in the knowledge that my question wasn't derogatory, and if I asked it via e-mail, it would be ignored like all the previous ones have been.

Did the founder give explicit permission for the name to be used, or was it another instance of intellectual property appropriation? DNA has a past, folks.

A week has passed, and guess what?

No answer.

The Green Mouse tells me another local event organizer was planning on staging precisely such a pub crawl reprise later this summer, and actually asked and received permission from Jala, the founder, only to be usurped by the mayor's preferred monopolists.

My advice to all and sundry: if you have a great idea for a community event, keep it a secret. The very walls have ears -- and grubby, grasping fingers.

Here's the story of the original 1 Night Stand from NA Confidential on August 5, 2009.

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"NA 1 Night Stand," a pub crawl, coming to downtown New Albany on August 29.

When first we heard from Jala Miller, she was moving into her new apartment in the building that houses Studio's Grille & Pub in downtown New Albany. Shortly thereafter, we were introduced, and I heard her idea for a downtown pub crawl, something that would being attention to the many new establishments coming to downtown New Albany.

Most important to me is her view of the demographics involved (her words):

To make this event a success – it is important that everyone “looks at the big picture”. The goal of this beer walk is to get the younger generation to want to visit New Albany “as a whole” – to make it a destination similar to that of Bardstown Road. In order for this to happen, the bars participating will need to be excited about it!

Jala has the plan together, and here are preliminary details. I concede that the date coinciding with Brew at the (Louisville) Zoo is inconvenient, but to be truthful, summer weekends tend to be booked from May through October in recent years. NABC will be participating in "NA 1 Night Stand" in a yet-to-be-determined fashion, hopefully with an outdoor party to serve as the trial run for similar events coming in September and October.

Event: The NA 1 Night Stand -- "Check 'em all before you fall"
What: Festival
Start Time: Saturday, August 29 at 3:00 p.m.
End Time: Sunday, August 30 at 12:00 a.m.
Where: Downtown New Albany

Description:

"The 'NA 1 Night Stand' is a one day welcome or reintroduction to downtown NA and all of the redevelopment that has been taking place. Join us on August 29th for a 'Beer Walk' different than anything NA has ever seen. Beer Olympics sign in begins at 3:00pm at Steinert's.

"Participating establishments will be featuring drink specials, food specials, and other attractions such as live music throughout the entire event day. Raffle prizes will be awarded throughout the day thanks to many local sponsors!"

Polar Walk & Coolest Art Show in downtown NA next Saturday ... and Paul's One World Cafe open on Market.

Next Saturday (February 27) is the occasion of the long-awaited, frigid sequel to last summer's NA 1 Night Stand downtown pub crawl: Polar Walk.

As before, participants will be wandering downtown New Albany and dropping by those establishments that have signed onto the program, including *Bank Street Brewhouse, Studio's, Pastimes, Hitching Post, *Steinert's, *Wick's and *Connor's Place.

*That's four out of seven for the home brewing team. Not bad.

Wait, there's more: In conjunction with the Polar Walk, and serving as the walk's registration and starting point, will be The Coolest Art Show, held within the friendly confines of Dave Thrasher's Art Store on Market Street.

In other news: You may have heard that the street level retail space formerly occupied by the Market Street Fish House (now across the street, folded into Connor's Place) has a new tenant. The Tribune's Daniel Suddeath reports with the complete lowdown: Paul’s One World Café open.

NA 1 Night Stand asks the question, and the answer is: YES.

Yesterday was the occasion of NA 1 Night Stand, downtown New Albany's first ever "beer walk" not to be associated with the annual autumn festival that always hates to have its name attached to such concepts. Rather, this one was the brainchild of Main Street resident Jala Miller, who put her formidable powers of marketing and social networking onto the task of filling downtown with people on an otherwise "normal" August evening.

To say it was a success is an understatement of epic dimension.

The fun started at 3:00 p.m., and the following photo shows the lamentable aftermath of Bank Street Brewhouse's first two red-clad, beer "walking," Bud Light-ordering customers, who couldn't bring themselves to finish their Kaisers, abruptly departing to drive off to continue their beer walk.

It got better after that, though, and in reality I always cherish opportunities to leverage NABC's Lite Free Zones into educational presentations, even on nights where crowds are large. Exposure is exposure. Resolving to glimpse the action along the circuit, I walked to the new Steinert's on the corner of Main and 4th, and caught the scene there for the first time.

There are two large rooms, one with the bar (above) and the other with a bandstand. In response to those asking previously, the new Steinert's is entirely smoking, without a non-smoking area in evidence. Alpha King was on tap, and that's a positive, too.

Next, I accompanied noted local mouthpiece Richard Rush and his posse to the Market Street establishments listed for the beer walk: Pastime Grill & Pub (above) and Hitching Post Tavern (below). Samuel Adams Summer Ale was on tap at the former, and at the latter, with nothing remotely resembling real beer, I opted to play my once yearly "When in Middle America" card and think back to previous lives.

Unfortunately, Richard caught the moment on film.

Whatever. I took one for the team.

Next came Studio's Grille and Pub, where the joint was jumping and bottled Sierra Nevada Pale Ale helped restore my palate for the evening ahead.

Back at BSB, there was a huge crowd. Clint Ackerman was playing, and soon after the incredible jazz trio The Outfit began their set. Fortunately, we were able to borrow front patio furniture last week, which helped to seat a crowd of probably two hundred. As at the other participating pubs, our staff was swamped but plugging along as best they could; thanks to all the servers, bartenders and kitchen employees all across the walk route.

Happily, even those establishments not officially participating also seemed to be having good evenings. The Windsor was catering for a 250-strong wedding party at the Grand, and Connor's Place reportedly ran out of beer. Not to excuse them for failing to climb on board this time ...

The point in all this is simple: For the second weekend in a row, and with numerous other events taking place, downtown was on the regional map, and hundreds of people who probably would have been somewhere else were in downtown New Albany, instead, whether at last night's beer walk or last week's Celtic Fest.

These throngs translate into key visits from Louisvillians and other folks who don't live here, an important and youthful area demographic, and more than a few residents, some newcomers, other longstanding, who seem quite happy to finally have a local option.

Good stuff in just about every sense. Momentum is a good thing. Now, we must keep it moving -- forward, not backward.

The Beak is Back -- with live music, as Bank Street Brewhouse celebrates NA 1 Night Stand this Saturday, August 29.

The Beak is Back ... and I wrote a press release to mark the occasion!

On Saturday, August 29, NABC’s Bank Street Brewhouse is participating in the inaugural NA 1 Night Stand, a beer walk through New Albany’s revitalizing downtown -- and we're celebrating with Beak's Best and live music.

The Beak is Beak’s Best, NABC’s session-strength American Bitter, which is named in honor of globetrotting historian and educator Don "Beak" Barry. Beak’s Best will be available all day Saturday at the special price of $3.25 for a 20-oz pint.

Like its namesake, Beak’s Best is fond of traveling (albeit in kegs) and will be available in September for distribution in Louisville through River City Distributing, and in Southern Indiana through Cavalier Distributing and NABC. In fact, the Beak debuted in Louisville today at three pubs (and Bob's Old 15-B at a fourth): New Albanian Brewing Co. in Louisville.

We call Beak’s Best an “American Bitter” because of the Cascade hops. Otherwise, there is a thoroughly English underpinning, both in terms of malt and yeast. It's one of the original NABC recipes, dating back to 2002. Our other NABC staples will be on draft, too: Elector, Bob's Old 15-B and Tunnel Vision, among others.

On Saturday during NA 1 Night Stand, there’ll be music on the North Patio, soon to be known as the WCTU Memorial Patio*:

5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.: Clint Ackerman, solo acoustic covers. Clint's appearance takes on a whole new urgency since news broke today that Oasis, the British rock band that both Clint and I adore, is breaking up.

8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.: The Outfit, free jazz from Louisville, and a group (guitar, bass and percussion, I believe) that I'm very much looking forward to hearing for the first time.

Remember also there is no finer kitchen on the Sunny Side than Chef Josh Lehman’s and his crew's, and it will be open until 10:00 p.m. as always, serving the innovative cuisine that has garnered so much acclaim since Bank Street's opening in March, 2009: Chef Josh and his staff are the MVPs of Bank Street's first six months.

Bank Street Brewhouse is helping to redefine downtown New Albany. Come down on August 29 and see how ... and support NA 1 Night Stand.

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* To me, it’s hallowed ground, and begs for the erection of an historical marker, because for at least a half-century prior to being razed in 1955, the house that stood at 417 Bank Street was the headquarters of the New Albany chapter of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Now it is the Bank Street Brewhouse’s patio and parking lot. The WCTU helped give us a ban on the production and sale of alcoholic beverages, and we’re enjoying pints of ale where members once advocated for the legislation of morality.

Today's Tribune column: "Pub walks and beer crawls?"

One or the other or both will be occurring this Saturday; see below the link for details. To read about NABC's special plans, visit my beer blog: The Beak is Back -- with live music, as Bank Street Brewhouse celebrates NA 1 Night Stand this Saturday, August 29.

BAYLOR: Pub walks and beer crawls?

Is a “beer walk” the same thing as a “pub crawl”? There’s a good reason for asking this question, although I readily concede that far weightier issues currently transfix the community.

EVENT DETAILS (from the organizers)

Thank you for registering for the “NA 1 Night Stand” – the event with the goal to “check ‘em all before you fall”!

To pick up your FREE T-SHIRT:

8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

@ The Farmer’s Market Area (on Market St. between Bank and Third)

(Free pre-registered shirts will be sold after 6PM if not picked up by this time)

There will be extra shirts available for $10 purchase during the times listed above.

We want to extend a huge thanks to the participating establishments:

Hitching Post Tavern
NABC Bank Street Brewhouse
Pastimes Grill & Pub
Steinert's Grill & Pub
Studio's Grill & Pub

While all area establishments were asked to participate, only the above establishments have committed to help make this event a success – so please be sure to return the support by being a patron of THEIR establishments throughout the event day. Participating establishments will be clearly marked. We are fortunate to have many other thriving bars and taverns in the downtown area and are hopeful more of them will participate at our next event. They likely will when they see you walking by. Please wave as you pass ...

"NA 1 Night Stand," a pub crawl, coming to downtown New Albany on August 29.

When first we heard from Jala Miller, she was moving into her new apartment in the building that houses Studio's Grille & Pub in downtown New Albany. Shortly thereafter, we were introduced, and I heard her idea for a downtown pub crawl, something that would being attention to the many new establishments coming to downtown New Albany.

Most important to me is her view of the demographics involved (her words):

To make this event a success – it is important that everyone “looks at the big picture”. The goal of this beer walk is to get the younger generation to want to visit New Albany “as a whole” – to make it a destination similar to that of Bardstown Road. In order for this to happen, the bars participating will need to be excited about it!

Jala has the plan together, and here are preliminary details. I concede that the date coinciding with Brew at the (Louisville) Zoo is inconvenient, but to be truthful, summer weekends tend to be booked from May through October in recent years. NABC will be participating in "NA 1 Night Stand" in a yet-to-be-determined fashion, hopefully with an outdoor party to serve as the trial run for similar events coming in September and October.

Event: The NA 1 Night Stand -- "Check 'em all before you fall"
What: Festival
Start Time: Saturday, August 29 at 3:00 p.m.
End Time: Sunday, August 30 at 12:00 a.m.
Where: Downtown New Albany

Facebook link

Description:

"The 'NA 1 Night Stand' is a one day welcome or reintroduction to downtown NA and all of the redevelopment that has been taking place. Join us on August 29th for a 'Beer Walk' different than anything NA has ever seen. Beer Olympics sign in begins at 3:00pm at Steinert's.

"Participating establishments will be featuring drink specials, food specials, and other attractions such as live music throughout the entire event day. Raffle prizes will be awarded throughout the day thanks to many local sponsors!"