A Festivus For the Rest of Us

Contributed photo

A local tradition for the past nine years, Erie Ale Works' Festivus returns, this year at Basement Transmissions with all the necessary accoutrements: the Festivus Pole, the Feats of Strength, and the ever-important Airing of Grievances.

SATURDAY DEC. 23

"I got a lot of problems with you people and now you're gonna hear about it." 

The Airing of Grievances, as demonstrated in the quote above, is just one of many rich Festivus traditions, originally thrust upon America on Dec. 18, 1997 in the now-infamous episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Strike." Within the episode, the Costanza family shares their dysfunctional holiday tradition of Festivus, which was (at the time) a fictional alternative to the consumerism and social pressures of Christmas. 

But nine years ago, fiction became reality and the local tradition of celebrating Festivus was born. The brainchild of a few key players, the folks at Erie Ale Works have largely spearheaded the annual tradition and this year is no exception. According to Erie Ale Works owner Jeff McCullor, "We feel this year's Festivus will be bigger than ever. We're in a larger venue down the street in Basement Transmissions, surrounded by our friends and family. It's become a tradition for a lot of people and we're happy to provide an important platform to air your grievances in a judgment-free place."

The evening will consist of a few scheduled, on-theme features including a traditional Festivus Pole, an unadorned aluminum stick with a very high strength-to-weight ratio. Additionally, the ever-important Feats of Strength, which tests attendee's Seinfeld acumen through trivia rather than wrestling. Questions this year will focus on season nine and will be presented by local Seinfeld-savant Matt Lebowitz. There will be prizes for first, second, and third place finishers. And, of course, there will be the ever-important Airing of Grievances, which allows folks to get some release from their festering resentments. If you'd like to air your grievances in advance and/or anonymously, you can do so by visiting eriealeworks.com/festivus.

As McCullor mentioned, this year's event will take place at Basement Transmissions, which offers plenty of space for all those who would like to attend. There will be beer available from Erie Ale Works, as well as cocktails provided by Luminary Distilling, food from Que Abides, and live music from local supergroup Cosmic Rhythm (featuring the sounds of Mike Agostini, Eric Louis, Nick Vigs, Josh Maloney, and Alan Chaffee).

So stop crying and fight your father (in trivia, of course. No actual violence is promoted at this event).

Doors at 5 p.m., festivities beginning at 6 p.m. // Basement Transmissions, 145 W. 11th St. // $5