BIYF 2000 Held April 7 - 9, 2000

Friday , April 7, 2000 As Early As Possible - Arrival in the Twin Cities Bill and Ruth made it down to the Twin Cities in the early evening while the Iowans arrived late Friday (at the residence of Jim and Suz).

8:00 PM - Annual Meeting, BIYF Minnesota Chapter (Bill, Ruth, Dave and Kay in attendance) Held at Nye's Polonaise Room. Nye's featured some delicious artery-clogging Polish cuisine and continuous entertainment via the Piano Bar. And, of course, a little beer.

Saturday, April 8, 2000 Midmorning - Welcoming Ceremony The day opened with a midmorning "festival welcome" and delivery of glazed donut holes to members absent from the Friday night activities. This is also the origin of any "sword in the donut" references you may see here. Just ask somebody; it's easier than trying to explain it.

Late Morning - Star Wars: The Magic of Myth The first full-group activity took place at the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts. The group (initially minus Jim who was late because he was like, working, or something) convened in order to tour the Star Wars: The Magic of Myth exhibit that was then featured at the MIA. This traveling exhibit showcased props, artwork and other aspects of the Star Wars phenomenon. The options were numerous: Have your picture taken with Yoda. Pet the Ewoks. Ogle the metal bikini. Petting the metal bikini was not allowed, however.

Early Afternoon - FEED ME! After touring the exhibit, it was determined that everyone desperately needed food. After a short discussion and a slightly confused effort at rounding everyone up at the MIA, the group headed for Davanni's. The food was delicious and there was pinball. Life is good. Strangely enough, the Great Moota had a vision of the exact pinball machine not long before this event. "It's the Cops!"

Late Afternoon/Evening - BIYF 2000 Held once again at the residence of Jim and Suz (the ancestral home of BIYF), BIYF 2000 included three (not the anticipated two!) movies, a dual beer and "blender drink" sampling festival and dinner. This year's movies, selected after a particularly active and highly debated voting process, were "Excalibur", "Strange Brew" and "Soylent Green". This year's festival generated numerous good quotes ranging from "A dream to some... A NIGHTMARE TO OTHERS!" to "Ya ever shaved a cat?" BIYF participants who chose to partake of the traditional beer sampling (Bill, Craig, Jim, Ken and Ruth) were presented with ten preselected beers in a variety of styles and qualities. We actually made it through about nine of the samples before things degenerated to just going out and grabbing a beer. I believe that Jim may still have one or two bottles left, however. New to the festival in 2000, the BIYF outreach program for supporting beverages other than beer ("Blender Is Your Friend" both alcoholic and nonalcoholic) was greeted with great enthusiasm. Many thanks to Chris for her efforts in lining everything up and making this part of the festival happen. Participants of this sampling plan (Chris, Dave, Jeri, Kay and Suz "NA") gave it a big "thumbs up" and it looks like a keeper for the future. Chris's recipes for the blender drinks sampled can be found here. Dinner was a filling and fantastic Chinese carryout family-style feast from the Phoenix City Chinese Restaurant. After dinner music was provided by Alf Clausen and the cast of "The Simpsons". "I love legitimate thee-a-ter."

Sunday, April 9, 2000 Midmorning - Annual Bagel Brunch No BIYF weekend seems complete without at least one visit to Bruegger's Bagels and this one was no exception. Not even an "incident" in the parking lot could keep everyone from one last activity. Fortunately, there were no human casualties.

Following Brunch - Departure from the Twin Cities After brunch, reality once again reared its ugly head and members headed back to their respective lives.