Last night (Sat. Nov. 21st) Beer Church held its 11th Annual Turkey Bowl to benefit the West Seattle Food Bank. The event is a bowling party, food drive and fundraiser held each year at West Seattle Bowl. This year Beer Church set new records. They collected approximately 3,000 lbs. of food and thousands of dollars in cash donations. The exact totals have not yet been calculated.
The event attracted over 200 bowlers and an impressive gallery of spectators who were there just for the fun. All told, the crowd was close to 300 people.
Within the larger event, representatives of the Washington beer industry were on hand to battle it out in the Beer Church Battle of the Brewers. Big Al Brewing, Georgetown Brewing, Elysian Brewing, Pike Brewing, Snoqualmie Falls Brewing, and Elliott Bay Brewing all participated in this year’s competition. In the end it was Elliott Bay that took home the trophy. You can see the trophy on display at the West Seattle brew pub. All of the breweries involved, and some that were not involved, donated swag for the raffle, which is one of the primary ways that Beer Church events generate revenue. More raffle prizes equals more ticket sales.
Three West Seattle pubs battled it out in the Beer Church Bar Brawl. Beveridge Place Pub, Porterhouse Pub, and West 5 not only competed by bowling but also by donating food. Beer Church awarded points to each team for the amount of food they donated. Not surprisingly, West 5 defended their title and took home the trophy. The victory was due largely to the fact that they brought an amazing amount of food. All of the teams, and the entire crowd in general, were very generous, but West 5 blew them all away with the mountain of food they donated.
The West Seattle Blog was a sponsor and media partner for the event, helping Beer Church sell the event out two weeks in advance – another new record. They were on hand to report on the action. You can see their story, and video, here.
Another, different kind of local blog participated in the event. West Seattle Funblog not only brought a large and very raucous crowd, but an impressive amount of food as well. They also passed the hat and collected $250 in cash. You can read their reports on the event here. (Not recommended for people who are easily offended or people who don’t have an open mind when it comes to “funmanship.”)
We’ve posted a video and some photos from the event below.
What an outstanding event! Thank you again, Beer Church, for the opportunity to represent and help folks in need this season. We look forward to more community service opportunities in the future!