Craig's Fest

By Jennifer Mdurvwa

“This is the greatest day of the year!” a student shouted as I made my way into Craig’s. The day this student is referring to is Craig’sFest, a bi-annual event held at Craig’s Favorite Pub on York Road in Baltimore, Md., just minutes away from Loyola University Maryland’s campus. This event takes place from 12 p.m. until 9 p.m. both inside the bar and outside in avacant lot with tents, music and activities set up. Students pay $30 for all you can drink Miller Lite beer for these nine hours, but you also have the option of purchasing Jell-o shots and mixed drinks. In previous years, you only had tobe 18 years old to attend the event, but due to growing complaints from the Baltimore City Police and neighboring residents you had be 21 to enter thisyear.

This particular Craig’s Fest took place on Saturday, April 24 and had hundreds of students, mostly from Loyola, in attendance. Each attendee is given a large plastic cup and must wait in line at the beer trucks to be served. In previous years, all beer was self serve, but in order to cut down onthe chaos, Craig’s employees filled everyone’s cups themselves. This, combined with the new age restriction made for a calmer Craig’s experience than most. Senior Alli Charette said, “This is weird, I can actually move around without having a million bodies slamming into me.” Several other attendees noted that aside fromthe Craig’s workers taking forever to fill cups, the beer lines weren’t nearly as bad as they'd been in the past. Senior Ryan Ouwerkerk was also surprised; he claimed that there are usually over 1000 people at Craig’s and even though it was still crowded, for the first time it was an enjoyable crowd.

The real scandal behind Craig’s Fest is the number of underage students in attendance partaking in this end of the year celebratory drunkenness that is supposedly only reserved for those who are of age. In the past, Craig’s got away with having underage attendees by giving those under 21 a different cup and wristband, refusing them entrance into the actual bar, and claiming that they also serve all you can drink soda for those who are not legal. However, with no one monitoring the beer trucks, there was really no way to regulate this, so those under 21 got drunk right along side of those who were. While Craig’s did change the rules this year, there was still no shortage of fake IDs and underage attendees like in past years. However, with both the Baltimore Police Department and the Baltimore community threatening to shut themdown if the event got out of hand again, Craig’s was forced to take some measures to subdue the usual rowdiness that ensues at Craig’s. But even with the new rules, there was no shortage of public urination, girls riding the mechanical bull in sundresses, fights threatening to break out, and overall drunkenness. But even so, Craig’s Fest is a day many Loyola Students look forward to every fall and spring and as senior Megan McManus put it, “It’s the best day I’ll never remember.”

Click below for interviews and footage of Craig's Fest.

Pictures and video by Jennifer Mdurvwa