The weather for Saturday’s Easter Keg Hunt was not upbeat, but the keg hunters were! The Rolling Barrel event, in its first year in Manayunk, was set to happen rain or shine and all 30 participants were just fine with that. After all, there were local deals, door prizes and plenty of drink specials on the line.
The hunt placed 10 five-liter kegs around Manayunk, giving contestants clues as to where to find each one. The kegs were divided equally amongst bars, restaurants and other local businesses. Each owner was encouraged to keep their keg and decorate it as they saw fit. Glow Salon got in on the action by decorating their keg with a wig and makeup while Cactus Bar & Restaurant took the Easter theme to heart by dressing their keg to look like a bunny, albeit one with a sombrero and mixed drink. “We wanted to highlight an area known for its food and drink,” said Matt Mebert of Rolling Barrel, “but we also wanted to highlight many of the other great businesses in the area.”
Teams began swarming the U.S. Hotel Bar and Grill, who was hosting the event, around noon and were sent out into the increasingly pouring rain at 12:30 p.m. to find the kegs and explore local Manayunk businesses. Everyone was encouraged to spend time at each location, talking to proprietors and learning more about the business. In exchange, each business was hosting special deals for all the hunters throughout the day. The deals ranged from food and drink specials to coupons for products and discounts.
Teams remained in high spirits even as they practically swam up and down Main Street through the rain, happy to find any business that had a keg and offered a dry resting place. Teams gathered at the participating locations to grab a quick drink or a bite to eat. One of the more popular stops of the day was Manayunk Brewing Company, where teams quenched their thirst with craft beers on offer. Almost every team stopped at Machismo Burrito Bar to fuel up on some tasty eats. Despite their $2 taco special for the keg hunters, many team members opted for Machismo’s over-stuffed burritos to fill their stomachs after a long day of hunting.
Teams rolled into the U.S. Hotel Bar and Grill again around 3:30 p.m. with dampened clothes but not dampened spirits, ready to take on the multiple drink specials offered at the bar for the after party. As teams arrived, they e-mailed or texted pictures of themselves with each keg to Mebert. Any team clever enough to figure out all the clues and get pictures will all ten kegs had their names entered for raffle drawings. Fellow hunters were awarded prizes such as a $25 gift card to Good Vibrations and a t-shirt from Beijing Homestyle restaurant during the raffle.
The event truly was a success despite – or because of – the rain, and only stands to become more popular next year. Be sure to mark your calendar and continue to check rollingbarrel.com for the next hunt, as well as many of their other events throughout the year, because next year’s hunt is sure to be bigger, better and hopefully drier!
View more scenes from Rolling Barrel’s Easter Keg Hunt, including photos from their West Chester and Phoenixville, by clicking here.
