Pub Crawl Could Promote Arlington Nightlife

Downtown Arlington should host a charity pub crawl, blocking off Abram Street to cars for an evening and allowing visitors to enjoy each of the area’s growing nightlife options.

We see different neighborhoods in Dallas and Fort Worth promote their nightlife scene by closing the main thoroughfare to cars and allowing for foot traffic only the night of the event. The Abram Street strip specifically lends itself very well to the pub crawl idea.

In Dallas events like the Oak Lawn Block Party and the Greenville St. Patrick’s Day Parade bring huge crowds and publicity to these neighborhoods.

There is, however, the downside of massive crowds to contend with: trash, parking, and traffic. Arlington could counter this with a charity pub crawl. Now, during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, non-profits and private organizations all over the country are coming up with creative ways to get people involved.

A great model for Arlington is the Bishop Arts Wine Walk that occurs monthly. Each visitor pays a small entry fee and is given a glass to go from shop to shop and try out different wines while exploring the area. Selling tickets allows for a measure of crowd control that is lacking in the bigger events, and it keeps the Wine Walk a casual event while still attracting plenty of attention.

Bars and restaurants can join in on the event and incentivize customers by offering specials that suit their specific style to correlate with the event. Visitors buy a ticket and are granted specials at each of the Downtown Arlington locations, encouraging them to visit each one and try something new.

The Levitt Pavilion sits right in the middle of the Abram Street drag and could provide entertainment for the evening as well as a central location to pay entry fee and gather information about the area from organizers.

Would you like to see a pub crawl, or bar tour, in the Downtown Arlington strip? What ideas do you have to make it special and unique to Arlington?

Trey Reynolds has traveled all over Texas, from the Panhandle to Big Bend to the Gulf. He’s also a professional stylist, a writer, and a baseball and science fiction fanatic.