7th Annual German Beer Fest

Who doesn't like a good laugh every now and then?  The 7th Annual German Beerfest was a golden opportunity for all.  From 2pm to 7pm, people were imbibing beer at the rate of a beluga whale.  The goal was to obviously, try all 20 brands of beer.  For some this would seem a daunting task; but for the quotidian inebriate, this was only a challenge. 

Thirty-five dollars at the gate gained you access to all the beer you could drink, German music, and authentic German cuisine.  Having lived in Germany once before in my life, I could really appreciate the atmosphere, as the Germans, like the Irish, are notorious drinkers and dancers.  I am really hard pressed to say who is more dedicated.  There was plenty of dancing and singing and, my personal favorite, food.  The aroma of Bratwurst and saurkraut was nearly intoxicating for me.  I had to have one! 

For apparent reasons the SafeRide tent was the second most popular tent behind all of the beer vendors, respectively.  The Atlanta Hawks were out there registering people to win free tickets to the games.  The Thrashers were providing slapshot games.  There was even a guy drawing caricatures on the spot.  None of these vendors got the attention SafeRide did. 

SafeRide provides free breathalyzer tests at all their events.  The fun part is you get to guess your blood alcohol level (BAL).  If you guess correctly, you win a prize, which Budweiser has so generously provided.  Bets begin to float around amongst friends and strangers alike to see who can blow the highest.  Previously, the highest I'd ever witnessed at an event was a .25.  That was eclipsed Saturday by a .28.  There was more celebration for that guy than there would have been if Germany would have won the World Cup. 

I truly had lots of fun.  Walking amongst the crowd encouraging people to use our service was interesting to say the least.  Halfway through the event it rained.  Everyone sought shelter beneath tents and trees and subsequently returned to the festivities.  Clearly, no one was discouraged.  Some people even thought that the wet ground provided an opportunity to do some mud gymnastics. 

All in all, SafeRide is a great organization to volunteer or even complete community service hours for.  You have no idea what you are missing.  It's getting to that time of the year where we need more volunteers.  School is back in session.  But, the events keep rolling in.  There's the Zoo event coming up in a couple of weeks and the OktoberFest in October.  For a great opportunity to serve your community by keeping drunk drivers off the roads and have fun doing it, register to volunteer for SafeRide.