That‘s a wrap! Mile of Music came and went. Did you hear great music? Perhaps you found a new venue or watched new bands come to you at your favorite spot. Mile creates great opportunities for folks to experience downtown Appleton, but for this blog post I thought I would share what it was like on the other side of the bar.
We started preparing for Mile six months ago. We strategized the best beers to pair with hot August days, given it takes 3-6 weeks to ferment so we had to plan far in advance. We even strategized porta-potty placement with respect to the stage to optimize your overall experience. You name it and our team met at one point to scrutinize over that little detail: building the stage, occupancy counts, organizing food trucks, having water stations, the list goes on. Imagine your in-laws are coming for the holidays and you have to over prepare your house for their stay. It’s like that, but we had about 4,000 new friends come through our living room and were determined to make each feel welcome and at home — that takes an incredible team to accomplish. Our team was at the brewery at 9 am every morning to set up all the sound equipment and prepare for the crowds. They stayed until about 1 or 2 each night until the last notes had been played. There were moments of fatigue, shattered glass, laughs, spilled guacamole, tears, smiles, exhaustion, and thankfully bacon to help us through Mile, and all the while every pint was served with respect as the artists’ souls were singing.
Our small staff of amazing beertenders and brewers and kick-ass volunteers made it all happen. This blog is really a shout-out to them. They worked all weekend and were still standing (or sitting) at the end, serving a pint with a smile. Thank you for making Mile 7 an epic event. Our artists were able to sing and share with our patrons in seamless fashion because you: Layla, Jay, Jones, Shane, Cari, Mykk, Cindy, Jon, Cindi, Angie, Doug, Alex, Deanna, Israel, Relena, Gus, Eric, Joe, Jeremy, Brian, Zach, Holly, Amanda, Katie, Mat, and Bobby put sleep on hold for a few days so your energy could flow into McFleshman’s. Thank you!! I wish you all a long hot shower and uninterrupted sleep—you’ve earned it!
To the artists-thank you for being you! Your beautiful quirkiness and unique sounds made for an incredible collection of music that rang through the streets of Appleton like magic!
To all of the Mile of Music organizers, in particular Ian and Taylor, thank you for what you do and working so closely with us!
Special thanks to Forefront Dermatology for sponsoring our stage, Gwen and Joe at Appleton Bicycle Shop for being great neighbors and all the help, BrewPub Pizzas for the food, Wilder’s Bistro, Caribbean Taste, Pura Vida for being our food trucks on site, Jacob‘s Meat Market for the Bacon, and especially Jay Counters for being an incredible sound tech, electrician, and friend!
And to you folks who enjoyed Mile and came through our doors, thank you! We hope you had a wonderful time and will come back and see us!!
Cheers and here’s to Mile 8!
