Get Ready for Drinks at Halloween Block Party in Athens?

Athens, Ohio, has been called one of the most haunted places on earth. Being famous for its annual Halloween Block Party, this year the city is expected to welcome thousands of people from all walks of life on Saturday, Oct 29, starting from 7pm in uptown city of Court Street.

Besides music, costume competitions, dance...attendants can't miss having beers in one of many local bars in Athens throughout the night. How do Red Brick Sports Pub, Casa Nueva, Tony's Tavern, The Pigskin, Jackie O's Pub&Brewery...to name a few prepare for upcoming Halloween night?

Below is a map with location of each bar and their preparation for the exciting event.


View How Bars in Athens Prepare for Halloween? in a larger map

In contrast with my initial thought, among 11 researched bars, only Casa Nueva has Halloween Bash on the same day and Red Brick Sports Pub has promotion and dressed up staff; the remainders are only concerned about security (Pigskin) and serving capacity of the staff given the huge amount of customers (Buffalo Wild Wings, Cat's Eyes, Jackie O's). Many of them will close as usual with no extended hour.



Bartender of Jackie O's is concerned about available food and drink to serve its maximum capacity of 299 people.



Anyway, Halloween is still in the air at Jackie O's and Casa Nueva with decorations of pumpkins.

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(Casa Nueva)

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(Jackie O's)

Paw Paw festival

The 13th Annual Paw Paw Festival will take place from September 16 to 18 at Lake Snowden in Albany, Ohio. The main purpose of the festival is to promote the sales of paw paw which is one of America’s largest native tree fruits. Paw paw looks like mango in shape with tropical flavor of avocado, mango and custard-apple combined. Paw paw has many seeds and it is grown in Southeastern Ohio and other parts of the country.

The festival is a good occasion for the paw paw growers community to get together and share experiences in planting trees. Through educational activities, residents of the region will understand more about the fruit, appreciate its unique flavor and give recognition to the native Americans who grow and preserve the fruits.

Friday Night in rural Appalachia

I took a van to Johnson Road in The Plains where Hannah House is situated. Hannah is one of the two houses that belong to Good-Works, a local organization in Athens, Ohio. Good-Works was found in 1981 aimed at helping poor people in rural Appalachia, one of the poorest parts of the States. They provide shelter for homeless people to stay temporarily before they can find a cheap place. Good-Works also helps with maintaining houses, planting vegetable, making friends with the seniors, teaching computer skills, etc. for the poor.

The event I came today is called Friday Night Life which takes place every Friday from 5pm to 8pm. Residents of the Timothy House get together with residents of Southeast Ohio to talk, participate in recreational activities and have dinner. The dinner is made thanks to the generous donation of the church, local restaurants and individuals.

Right after the dinner was camp fire where we burnt marshmallow. The kids were excited to know that I am from Vietnam. They asked me to teach them how to say "hello, thank you, mom and dad" in Vietnamese.

The event brings a great sense of community and everyone is part of a big family. See you all next Friday!

A typical scenery in rural Appalachia

(Photo Source: Internet)