Thursdays in Cedar Rapids can include drinking, walking, donating to a great cause, winning prizes, and TONS of fun! I decided to check out the South of the Cedar Pub Crawl this past Thursday, and it was great to see all the people sporting the t-shirts (donations go to Habitat for Humanity) and getting their cards punched at each bar.




I decided to start the nite at Cedar River Landing (I wanted nachos!), then moved on to Coopers Mill (nice acoustic live music), then to Double Inn (dart league in progress) and ended the night at Rumors (KARAOKE!!!). It was fun to wander from bar to bar, and I guess I didn’t realize just how close these 4 bars were to each other! Each has it’s own vibe and crowd, and there’s something for just about everyone in one of these 4 bars!

I love that they sponsor the pub crawl, and that the donations go to a great cause. For $15, you can buy a t-shirt and that money goes to support Habitat for Humanity. You then get a punch card, and each Thursday you get your card at the first bar and then hit the other 3, getting your card stamped at each. Having the card and t-shirt entitles you to drink specials, and at the end of the night, you give your fully stamped card to the last bar and you are then entered into a contest. At the end of the pub crawl, there will be a drawing for the winners of the prizes! You could one of two super cool sport vehicles from McGraths Power Sports, or an HD TV, or $200 in cash! All for going to bars you already love, and donating to a worthy cause! Sounds like a great deal to me!

I plan on being out again this coming Thursday, and I hope to see you all there! I’ll have the newest photographer/blogger to the Cedar Rapids Nite Out team with me, Whit Jaykin, and I hope we can show her a great night! See you on the town!

Live Music on a Nite Out!

Just the parking lot of the Chrome Horse is a testament  to it being one of the hottest places to be on a Saturday night! It’s always packed, even at 8:30pm! Now, I was lucky enough that a car was pulling out just as I was pulling in - a good sign that it was going to continue to be a good night! Chrome was packed from wall to wall like usual, and the feeling from the group was anxious waiting  for the evening’s live band, Crazy Delicious. After wandering around and chatting with a few people, all of which were happy to take a picture for me (thanks everyone!) the band started.

Now, I have never had the pleasure of seeing most of  the live bands that play in our area, and Crazy Delicious was no exception to this. I was pleasantly surprised when they got started, playing a Lady Gaga song and Katy Perry song to get things kicked off. The floor immediately flooded with dancing girls, and people sang along. They were really great! It was a good night at Chrome, people continued to file in, and I decided to let them have their bar back, so it was off to Outskirts for their Beach Party!

While Outskirts wasn’t packed like Chrome, everyone there was happy to be there, having a great time! If you didn’t get lei-ed at Outskirts, there was definitely something wrong with you (haha, get the pun? I think I’m pretty funny sometimes!)! I happily drank one of their Sex on the Beach drinks, as well as a round of $1 Jello shots with my friends. Karaoke with Off Key Entertainment was just getting started when we got there, and it was an eclectic selection of songs… I decided to flex my vocal cords and sang Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana” (it seemed fitting for the beachy flavor of the night) and one of my friends sang The Door’s “People are Strange” (which happens to be MY favorite Doors song). After a few more songs from the other bar goers (dressed in hula skirts, beach shorts, with flowers and sunglasses as accessories) it was time for the hula hoop contest! I thought “Ah heck, why not?”. Now, I used to hula hoop like a master when I was a little girl, but these hula hoops were pretty light, and I couldn’t keep it up to save my life! It was a fun little game, coming down to a final 2, boy and girl, who really rocked that hula hoop! It was a fun time, with fun people, and a great way to end my evening!

Check out the Cedar Rapids Nite Out face book page for pictures from the evening, and make sure to “Like” the page, and friend me, Jen Kat, on my page! Jenkat82@gmail.com

St. Patricks Day in Cedar Rapids!!!

St. Patrick’s Day in Cedar Rapids, IA (and probably every other place in this fine state) equaled lots of green clothes (and hair, and nails…), loud music, and LOTS of drunkenness!

The day is meant to commemorate the death of  Saint Patrick, who (long story short) traveled through Ireland, converting the natives to Christianity in the 5th Century. Over the years, the day has turned from a primarily Catholic holiday into a “Be Irish for a day” celebration. So we have Saint Patrick to thank for March 17th every year, when we all get to sport our green colors, wear “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” t-shirts, and drink ourselves silly!

While I knew an Irish pub (like Mahoney’s) was the place to be on this particular holiday, I wasn’t quite ready for that right off the bat, so I trekked over to Cedar River Landing first… the parking lot was packed, and the music pumped through the air. I walked into a sea of green, and had the pleasure of hearing the band Between Monsters play for the first time. The band was even nice enough to pose for a picture for me (Check out the Cedar Rapids Nite Out Facebook page for all the pictures from the night!)  and give me a little shout out during their show! Being drunk definitely seemed to loosen the inhibitions of the bar goers, and the dance floor was packed as Between Monsters did their thing (Marcy Playground and the Cranberries among the artists they sang). It didn’t take long to see that this party was going to continue all night, so warmed up, I decided to brave Mahoney’s!

Again, it was PACKED, and after parking a few blocks away, I walked to the bar, bracing myself for what was inside. If I thought CRL was packed, I was terribly mistaken! Mahoney’s is small in size with a personal feeling, but when you pack as many people into one room as there was Thursday night, you REALLY get up and personal with those around you! Irish music played through the speakers, people were drinking and yelling and talking and just having an awesome time all around! There was no lack of Irish pride inside, and the patrons spilled out into the street and in the parking lot, having a great time. After the Irish music at Mahoney’s I decided I was in the mood for a musical change, so it was to Tailgators that I traveled next.

Swamped as well with green being the primary color of everything, the group Downward Fall were rocking the stage. Two bands in one night that I had never heard, and let me tell you, these guys were awesome! The dance floor was packed and people sang along to the great music. With a larger space than Mahoney’s, there was still room to move around and get comfy, but the atmosphere was the same as the previous two bars… “Let’s get drunk!”

I continue to enjoy exploring our town and meeting all the awesome people that venture out to our bars and grills (that would be YOU, Reader!) and I hope you all showed your Irish pride on Thursday (actually being Irish seems to be the last requirement for this day!!!)! See you on the town!