Springfest
It had been a while since Judy and I have been to Springfest , the Northstar Chapters big spring show . It was a beautiful spring day and a wonderful day for a show . Myself Judy and Mark Walker decided we should all attend the North star chapters annual spring fest show this year as Mark had never been and Judy and I had not been in a long time . The show has always been one of our favorites as it ' s pretty good-sized , approximately 100 tables . It ' s the first big show of the new year that really kicks off the trading season and after not having been to any kind of chapter event since our Christmas party in early December we were all feeling long overdue to get together with friends and acquaintances and bask in the glow of beer signs . We got grandma to watch the girls and picked Mark up bright and early as we wanted to get there at 9 o ' clock when the doors opened and try to beat Stubie to any goodies from New Ulm that might be setting around on somebody ' s table . Well Starbur pulled a fast one and bought an early admission pass so he could get it at 8 o ' clock and scoop up all the Schells and Hauenstein beer signs . There wasn ' t really anything there that I needed . I guess in the way of Schells or Hauenstein . There were a lot of very nice things at the show and the one that really was a showstopper was the Standard Brewing tin sign of the execution of the Sioux Indians . It was an incredible piece with many types of appeal but it came with a $ 5000 price tag which put it way out of my league . It was also at Guzzle-N-Twirl last fall . And I ' m sure it probably went home with the seller as $ 5000 is one heck of a lot of money to lay out for a beer sign . I ' m not saying he won ' t get it someday but it certainly takes the right person to put out that kind of cash for a beer sign to hang on the wall . While I was there I shot some video with Northstar Chapter President Mike Mullally . I also shot some video with Dave Wendel giving an excellent history piece on that standard brewing company sign . I was able to socialize and visit with a lot of my friends and I think Judy was too . Of course the usual suspects were there . Miners , Barely Travis , Father Furry and most of the other people you expect to run into at a Northstar show . Mark Walker was able to buy some things including a cool Pabst tin over cardboard chalkboard and a few other goodies including a rough version of that Standard Brewing Company tray with the Indian execution on it for $ 100 . It was getting to be around 1:30 or so and we were hungry and decided we needed something to eat when Nick Dylla suggested we try the place right around the corner called the Shantytown Grill . Well we decided it was worth a try as it was close and we were hungry and we ’ re glad we did . It was nothing fancy but they had some really good hamburgers and side ' s . The beer selection wasn ' t too bad nothing great if your a big-time craft drinker but they had some good beers . I tried my first ever Finnegans Irish Amber and it was enjoyable . While after a nice lunch in a couple of beers we decided it was time to head back to Iowa . Mark had the car loaded up with all his goodies Judy and I did manage to get a Pabst Blue Ribbon and a Hamm ’ s tray from Barry Travis as he was having a half-price birthday special . But no big score . We did see a lot of friends and had a lot of fun and it was a wonderful day . If you haven ' t been to the Everett McClay show for a while or ever I would highly recommend you put on your calendar for next year . Tom T . 28855
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