Event Description:
Jabberwocky: One Pint at a Time is an excuse to enjoy the company of friends and strangers, share life stories and otherwise enjoy the act of coming together over a beer. Taking place in the Indiana Historical Society’s (IHS) Cole Porter Room, which has been re-imagined to mirror the bar at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel where Porter lived for 25 years, guests will gather and do what comes naturally while drinking a beer: share stories. The IHS, Storytelling Arts of Indiana (SAI), and IndyFringe will host a specially-themed Jabberwocky–a rendezvous originally created by SAI and IndyFringe for “jabbers” to share their stories–that will gather local brewers, bartenders, historians, and drinkers (i.e., the rest of us) to explore the world of the corner pub by sharing tales of pints, six-packs, and kegs.
Why talk about beer? Because beer is food … an ancient and venerated food that archaeologists believe the world’s first agricultural communities produced almost as soon as they learned to make bread. (The ancient Egyptian hieroglyph for “meal” is a combination of glyphs for “bread” and “beer.”)
Douglas Wissing, author of the forthcoming IHS publication One Pint at a Time: A Traveler’s Guide to Indiana Brewpubs, also argues that beer is art, religion, and liquid solace. It is a near universal element that across the ages has inspired craft brewers, monks, and common people to stop, slow down, drink, and talk with one another. Humans have always done this as mealtime with family, but it is beer (and the beer hall) that brings strangers to a common table. And since beer drinking has always lent itself to storytelling, that’s just what the audience will be encouraged to do.
A few pre-selected “jabbers” will be asked to share stories lasting from 7–10 minutes. After a few stories, the emcee will turn things over to the crowd who are then invited to participate in a 3–5 minute open mic storytelling session. Samples of Indiana craft beers will be served throughout the event.
Of course, beer drinking not only leads to storytelling but occasionally action. A good many times this action is not necessarily constructive, but at this program it will be. Representatives from the Brewers of Indiana Guild will host an information table to share resources on their legislative efforts, charitable activities, and measures to encourage responsible drinking. Big Car, which is involved in a social practice/community art series called "Made for Each Other" that is gathering personal stories, will also be involved in the program.
