I had no intentions of going to the Steel Furnace event on Saturday. I was intrigued.. .but it seemed like something that could live up to the crazy viralness of the reddit posts and news stories, and maybe I should just stay away. But on Saturday morning I had just finished my second cup of coffee at home and was slow-rolling the day, and around 11:20am I got the text from my bud… “Do Attend?”. So since i was just on my way to get moving I decided to reply “on my way” thinking it was going to be a relatively quick visit.
I drove over and made one tactical error… I parked way too far away. Like Ben Franklin Parkway far away. Well I had heard that streets would be closed and didn’t want to get close and be stuck. So my late start out the door was made even later by my 15-20 min walk from my car.
I approached the lot from the rear corner and set-up my GoPro hat. Yes I said “GoPro hat”. For Christmas this year I bought myself the latest GoPro Hero 7 Black with all of it’s super stabilization. Like most gadgets… there is a 40% gadget tax in all the additional accessories you need including batteries and holders, and for me this also included a very nice $16 baseball cap with a GoPro mount on it! So thinking I wouldn’t be the craziest one at the event, I popped on my GoPro hat and headed in.
It was around 12:40pm as I entered the lot and it genuinely was perfect weather. Bright blue skies, perfect temperature. And there was a good sized crowd. Over the next our or two I was in the area the crowd seemed to grow larger up 2pm or so but even at 12:40 my initial tour of the lot at 27 and Girard showed several hundred people, with a few in costumes, a barbecue grill and a DJ setup… with a few interpretive dance participants. 🙂
I met up with my friend and walked around a bit, and then headed over to Crime and Punishment to try out their event oriented beer. Hot and spicy! I had been to Crime and Punishment a few times before, and it’s definitely a favorite stop. We also headed over to 2637 Brew which is located directly across from the Steel Furnace event and somehow secured a seat right at the front entrance.
Both places were hopping inside and out, but Crime and Punishment was really getting tough to move around in.
We then went back to the Steel Furnace lot for some more video and this is where Part II kicks in… with the Steel Furnace dance party really causing some face melting. The crowd had definitely grown and at this point there was easily 500 people there or more. This is when the party was most animated… starting with the guy busting open beers on his head, and then moving through a variety of dancers and shenanigans.
We weren’t done with the Brewerytown area as on our way out we stopped at Rye Brew and had a beer up in the loft looking down over the main floor, and still not happy with what was now a mulitple hour visit… we stopped at famed local athelete Marvin Harrison’s Playmakers… where we met some really awesome people.
Still not done! Since we had to work our way back to the Parkway, it was also the first Parks On Tap event at Azalea Gardens behind the Art Museum, so we tried that out! As I said it was a perfect spring day, and it definitely brought out the crowds.
And I still found time to visit a few of the Parkway sites before finally rolling out.
Then it was finally back home where I had to explain to my wife how my “just popping over to check it out” turned into a 5 hour trip. Ha
The video is two parts. A casual walking experience as I first arrived and then when the dance area action picked up. There were two songs from the DJ that tripped up Youtube censors so I had to have YT remove them… so you’ll hear two segments of silence
Steel Furnace Gallery:
