‘Pub crawl’ draws positive feedback
Main Street Siloam Springs and the Siloam Springs Museum hosted the event last Saturday.
The Siloam Springs Museum and Main Street Siloam Springs hosted a night of pints, pretzels and prizes on Saturday, Oct. 15.
The event, titled “Oktoberfest: Tap into History,” included one drink each at Creekside Taproom, 28 Springs and Inn at the Springs, and a trip to the Siloam Springs Museum, where participants got a homemade pretzel and learned about Simon Sager. Participants got to see exhibits that are not usually on display at the museum and turn in trivia cards about the exhibits in hopes of winning prizes.
Karin Woodruff, the Public Programs Director at the museum, said she was pleased with the response to the event.
“We heard a lot of positive feedback about the event, but now that people are showing up, it’s good,” Woodruff said while running the check-in station at the event.
Seventy-two tickets for the event were purchased, and the museum estimated that a total of 75 people attended. The event description from Main Street Siloam Springs said it was the city’s first official “pub crawl,” which has participants buy drinks at multiple area bars or restaurants.
Woodruff said the event was part of an effort to reach out to a broader audience and a younger age demographic. A pub crawl, in contrast with a more expensive formal banquet, attracts a younger crowd, Woodruff said.
The event highlighted Simon Sager’s life because Sager, a German immigrant, is believed to have been the first settler of Siloam Springs. Sager arrived in Siloam Springs in 1839, where he built a cabin a short distance from John Brown University, along the creek that bears his name. His second cabin, which is on JBU’s campus, still stands.
Participants got to see artifacts from Sager including a family bed, their Bible and more.