By Gina Horan
Beat the Heat with Summer Shenanigans Pub Crawl in Downtown Leesburg
Downtown Leesburg Events Presents: The 2nd Annual Summer Saturday Shenanigans Pub Crawls.
It’s summertime again and while some residents have flown the coop, lots of folks will stay through the hot summer months and take advantage of cool indoor fun.
One way to beat the heat and socialize is to participate in the second annual Leesburg Downtown Pub Crawls. Last year, the idea started with a few downtown businesses hoping to bring new people to downtown and inspire locals to stick around and enjoy the many bars and restaurants in the vibrant and revived downtown district. Alisha Blake of the Sipping Garden and Bistro says the enthusiasm of the participants made it easy to decide to do it again.
“Last year it was such a hit we wanted to keep the vibe going and make it a tradition,” Alisha says. “It’s a great way to get people together and give the locals something to do.”
She says that the crawl was slow-going at first but once they began to offer guided tours, the social aspect was a hit and helped people get to all of the locations on time.
“Everybody liked it so much that they started coming up with themes, dressing in costumes and even created Facebook pages and groups,” Alisha says. “I have a feeling this year will be even more popular as the word gets out.”
Go to Downtown Leesburg Events Facebook page for more info or find the event on Eventbrite.
The dates and themes are set for the last Saturday of each month:
July 27 – Wild West
August 31 – The 70’s
September 28 – Aargh Pirates
October 26 – Zombie Invasion
Participating Bars and Restaurants:
McCracken’s Irish Pub, Marmaduke’s Lodge, The Sipping Garden & Bistro, The Brick & Barrel Public House, The Great Chicago Fire Brewery & Tap Room, Turner’s Kitchen + Bar, Two Old Hags Wine Shoppe, Wolf Branch Brewing Co., Hamrick Family Vineyards, The Warehouse, Prime 3 Steakhouse and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Event is $25 per person and goes from 4-7. It starts at Leesburg City Hall (501 W. Meadow St.) where you will check-in at 3:30pm to get your route map, punch card & wrist band.
Parking is available at weekend lots and on the streets.
*If you are interested in being a guide, contact the group through Facebook.
Gina moved to Central Florida in August 2021 from the San Francisco Bay Area. She has a degree in linguistics and worked as a fashion editor, photo stylist lifestyle columnist and food writer for the Knight Ridder Newspaper Group. She also covered and photographed music festivals, fashion shows and sports throughout Northern California. In 2000, she joined KSAN radio as a morning show co-host and produced the news and sports content there for four years. She later covered travel, events and the restaurant scene for KRON-Bay TV. A veteran bartender, Gina has worked in hospitality on and off since high school. She has been with Akers Media since 2022 and hosts the Healthy Living Central Florida podcast. Her passions include travel, road trips, baseball, history books and podcasts, tasting menus and arriving in a new city without a map or guidebook.
