The 64th Annual Brussels Lions Club Belgian Days festival is in the books. For a small town the Belgian community sure knows how to throw a party; and party they did.
Supported by a boost in attendance, preliminary gross sales for the park concession stand, food and beverages set another record. And it was a thirsty crowd with 86 half-barrels of beer along with an additional four kegs of hard cherry cider emptied. Since introduced a year ago the sale of vodka-infused (Class B permit) seltzer and lemonade adult beverages - such as Carbliss, NÜTRL and Mike's Hard Lemonade sales have exploded to enhance the festival's bottom line.
When was the last time you got to step-up and show-off your strongman skills?
You can at Belgian Days.
And Sunday closed with some traditional peninsula country music magic to include our own local Modern Day Drifters...
By the time you read this I'll be pulling my first and last shift as a volunteer at the Brussels Lions Club 64th Annual Belgian Days.
The festivities begin with a parade that begins at St. Francis and St. Mary Church, winds thru town and makes the final turn to land at Brussels Town Park. There will be the last of boys and girls youth tournament baseball and softball. The last of the food and beverages. The last band as well. We're hopeful to sell out of everything with the exception of a few remaining kegs of beer.
With all hands on desk, taking everything down comes-together pretty quickly. And after everything has been cleaned and stored the opportunity to kick back with your neighbors and finish-off the last of the beer with a beautiful peninsula sunset is an appealing prospect. Sure, there will remain some odds and ends to be performed on Monday; but the heavy lift will be in the rear view mirror.
Once we have an after action report I'll endeavor to report some of the results of this once a year fundraiser. Brussels Lions don't host a periodic brat fry at the grocery, sell roses, chocolates or other stuff for fundraising. Our club does everything in one fell swoop. One and done. I'm not implying it is better; but it works for us and our unique circumstances.
In case you're wondering here's pricing on beverages
And this is what making the third batch of booyah looks like. Naturally that is wood fired cooking....
The Brussels Lions Club 64th Annual Belgian Days
kicked-off on Friday afternoon with two ball fields hosting youth teams from
all over for a weekend tournament. It is a big deal for youth baseball and softball in northeast Wisconsin to travel here for a weekend of ball. How big a deal you ask? I am told organizers have more applicants than slots. My only regret is that as a working volunteer I did not have time to sit in the stands and watch play on one of the two fields and take some action photos. Maybe another year.
As for the fundraising for the Lions Club I am also told that the preliminary numbers are looking better that last year - and naturally other prior years. Anecdotally, I can tell you that with two bands on the schedule for Saturday sales were brisk for the first shift (mine) which has traditionally been slower-paced. Time will tell.
The first band on-deck was Carbon Road.
A high energy keep em dancing act they were a high energy production. Song
selections ranging from the 60s to current pop, country and full tilt
Rock 'n Roll. Five multi-talented musicians with years of experience
converge on the stage to present a professional, interactive and crowd
pleasing show. Outstanding vocals! Website including playlists here.
Here is their opening number....
Edit to add - Second band on tap was Star Six Nine.
Established in 2008, Star Six Nine has played everything from the big
stages at Summerfest, to Festivals, to Bars and even backyard BBQs.
Winners of the 2019 WAMI Cover Band of the Year and nominated many years
prior to that.
3 lead singers and WAMI nominated musicians keeps the night interesting, paired with great sound and lights!
The Brussels Lions Club 64th Annual Belgian Days
kicked-off yesterday afternoon with two ball fields hosting youth teams from
all over for a weekend tournament.
All
kinda food and beverages including Belgian specialties such a jutt, trippe and Belgian pie. There is Booyah too. And live music
all weekend long including two bands tomorrow and another on Sunday.
Boogie
and the Yo-Yoz returned this year for a Marquee 30th Anniversary performance. As part of
their milestone celebration, Boogie and the Yo-Yoz are hosting a select
series of shows that feature special
appearances by past members who helped shape the band’s legacy over the
past three decades. Belgian Days is one of them!
I rose early today to get over to the town park for Belgian Waffles and breakfast trippe.
If ever you plan a trip to the peninsula be sure to mark your calendar as Belgian Days is always held the second weekend of July.
Look for me; there's a good chance I'll be behind the bar serving adult beverages.
Welcome to the new Incident Command Vehicle for the Brussels, Union, Gardner (BUG) Fire Department.
The custom ride is designed to be first to respond to an incident. Not only will it handle communications and logistics; it houses a high pressure, single operator, fire suppression system that breaks down water droplets into a fine mist known as a water mist system. It works by creating tiny water droplets with a large surface area, allowing them to rapidly absorb heat from a fire and effectively extinguish it while using significantly less water than a traditional fire hose.
With the flip of a switch it also has capacity to lay down foam.
The Brussels Lions Club, local business and individuals contributed funding for this acquisition.
I cannot comment on the hundreds of pounds of Belgian Trippe, hamburgers, hotdogs, gallons of booyah that were sold from the kitchen. As a licensed bartender I worked the bar.
The Brussels Lions Club sold 71 half-barrels of beer and 4 kegs of Von Stiehl cherry cider. There was also the sale of an unknown number of vodka-infused fruity seltzers, hard iced tea and hard lemonade. The latter seem to be a trending 'thing'.
Tending bar at the east end closest to the rock and roll bands has likely accelerated my hearing loss. Nevertheless, Sunday brings welcome relief from the Modern Day Drifters and country music which is easier on the ears.
Besides who doesn't like Waylon, Willie and The Boys with some pedal steel thrown-in for good measure...
Wednesday and Thursday of this week found me over at the local town park with my neighbors and fellow Brussels Lions Club members setting-up for our annual fundraiser.
Belgian Days.
Yup. 63 years running. And its a big deal for our small community because over that period of time the Brussels lions have raised more than $870,000, most of which stays right here in town. Whether it is a family displaced by a fire, someone that needs a short or long term loaner on medical equipment, the church food pantry, investment in playground, trail and infrastructure in the town park or the local volunteer fire department; where there is a need there is a Lion.
I joined several years go after I retired and moved here permanently. It was a marvelous way to make new friends, engage in the community and stay involved. And yesterday we kicked-off the festival with a high energy cover band, Boogie and the Yo-Yoz....
Preparations began almost a year ago and really ramped-up this last week. Now we're in the thick of it with the finale scheduled for today.
I'll publish a recap post when I have time. For now there us this.
The
national flag of Belgium is a tricolor consisting of three equal
vertical bands displaying the national colors of Belgium: black,
yellow, and red. The colors were taken from the coat of arms of the
Duchy of Brabant, and the vertical design may be based on the flag of
France.
Neither of us share a single drop of Belgian blood; nevertheless to honor our neighbors with Belgian ancestry this time of year we fly the Belgian colors.
Paraphrased from the club FB page there is this by means of introduction...
The
Brussels Lions, a service club organization authorized in 1960. This local organization hosts
Belgian Days, a yearly festival that raises funds for community and
global causes.
The
Brussels Lions Club meets the 4th Wednesday in Southern Door County.
The Door Peninsula is often referred to as the "thumb" of Wisconsin with
Lake Michigan to the east and the bay of Green Bay to the west.
Brussels
is located about 30 miles Northeast of the city of Green Bay, home of
the 13-time World Champion/4-time Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers
The
Brussels Lions Club was formed in 1960 and draws most of its membership
from the small townships of Brussels, Union & Gardner.
To date there are more than 56 men and women in our club and new members are always welcome. The club is growing!
There is one annual fundraiser of the year - the Belgian Days festival held the
second weekend of July at the town park. Belgian Days celebrates the
rich Belgian heritage of the locale.
The
money raised at Belgian Days goes to support the many state and
international causes of Lions and is targeted towards various community causes and needs.
Some
of the local causes supported are three to four $2,000 (US$)
scholarships to graduates from Southern Door High School, making
constant improvements to our town park, providing free medical equipment
to those in need in our area and providing donations when people in our
community have medical or social setbacks.
The Brussels Lions are very proud to be active supporters of the Wisconsin Lions Camp
that provides free camping experiences for children and adults with
sight handicaps, hearing impairments, cognitive disabilities and
diabetes. We also donate annually to the Lions Pride Endowment Fund of
Wisconsin Inc. that has a goal of a $25 million endowment to keep our
camp going for years to come. In addition we donate to the Lions Eye
Bank of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Lions Foundation (WLF) and the Lions
Club International Foundation (LCIF) as well as numerous other causes.
At the invitation of a Milwaukee neighborhood acquaintance who also happened to have retired in the Brussels community I joined this club a little over a year ago. And as a former member, director and officer of Kiwanis I am tickled to be a part of a vibrant and giving local service organization again. Not only has it afforded me numerous opportunities to become better acquainted with my neighbors and friends - I have been afforded an opportunity to add new friends to my very valued existing friends and acquaintances.
Remember this: You cannot have too many good friends. Trust me on that. Moreover I have, now, an opportunity to contribute locally and genuinely give back.
Not only do we join as Lions to support national and international Lions Club initiatives - but we also support our own local neighbors and town.
Where there is a need there is a Lion.
We all put-in a terrific amount of quality time beginning Wednesday of last week to prepare for the annual Belgian Days event. Here are some highlights.
Friday evening featured Boogie and the Yoyoz...
Saturday morning Homemade Belgian waffles...
Followed by a Corn Hole Tournament....
More music from two additional bands, baseball tournaments that stretched over four days, traditional Belgian fare, beer, new playground equipment for the kiddos, a bounce house for the kids and much more.
There is ring the bell...
Any country music for this old man's ears from the Modern Day Drifters. My view from bartending....
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