By Shelby Clark Petkus
Ready to party? Michigan AIDS Coalition hosts its much anticipated 18th Annual Ferndale Pub Crawl on Friday, July 25. The "Original Crawl" or "the BIG ONE," as MAC refers to it, is the signature summer event for the Ferndale area, hosting hundreds of participants visiting Downtown Ferndale.
MAC, formerly the Michigan AIDS Fund and Midwest AIDS Prevention Project, has been dedicating its non-profit, community-based service to health promotion, harm and risk reduction, HIV and sexually-transmitted disease prevention education and more. Through workshops, trainings and events like DIFFA, AIDS Walk and the pub crawl, MAC is able to reach people in need of education and outreach.
At the core of the event is MAC's mission to promote Ferndale and its businesses, raise money for charities and have safe fun. All funds raised during the pub crawl go to local tax-deductible charities including the Detroit Derby Girls, the Ferndale Community Foundation and MAC itself.
The event, sponsored by Ferndale's own Garden Fresh Gourmet, will be a walking tour of the pubs, restaurants and bars in the downtown area. Diverse and fun-loving crowds are able to eat, drink and see the shops and stores. Multiple waves of walks take varied routed to the participating venues, so each pub or bar has waves of patrons at staggered times. This night is often touted as the best bar night in the area for the year.
This year's event will begin at the new Twist Night Club (formerly Boogie Fever) and be led by community leaders and the Detroit Derby Girls. Some of those leaders include Craig Covey, Mayor Pro-Tem Dan Martin, Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash and Councilman Greg Pawlica. Venues that will be visited include Como's, Danny's Irish Pub, Dino's Lounge, One Eyed Betty's, SOHO, Rosie O'Grady's, Howe's Bayou, Buffalo Wild Wings, Bosco, Ferndale Elks, M-Brew, New Way Bar, Sneaker's, Orchid and Schramm's Mead.
As part of a safe and healthy event, one of the main sponsors – Uber – will be offering a free first ride for those going to the crawl when using the promo code FERNDALECRAWL. Uber, an upscale take on cab service, is a mobile application that connects riders to professional drivers with the push of a button. No motor vehicles are permitted at the event.
The event, open to everyone 21 and over, begins at 7 p.m. on July 25. Twist is located at 22901 Wooward Ave., Ferndale.
For more information, contact co-chairs Craig Covey and Monica Mills at [email protected] or [email protected]. Visit http://www.michiganaidscoalition.org or http://www.ferndalepubcrawl.org and keep tabs on MAC's Facebook page for further details.
