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Thanks for supporting independent drinks journalism. And now, to the matter at hand!
Last week, your pal Dave had his long-delayed bachelor party. It was decidedly unlike the 1984 Tom Hanks vehicle by the same name: no strip clubs, no sex workers, no, uh… hot dogs. We just went to a beach outside of Charleston, drank a bunch of beers, and hung out for a couple days before I got married. It was really nice!
We were about 25min outside of Charleston proper, but the city itself is absolutely awash in bachelor and bachelorette parties. The trend, spurred on by a decade atop Condé Nast’s “best small cities” list, a poorly regulated Airbnb scene, and a main drag banked by (relatively) cosmopolitan restaurants and bars, packs of guys and gals descend on the Holy City by the dozen every weekend—and even some weekdays, too.
The bachelor/ette trend here seemed to actually pick up last year during the pandemic, maybe because South Carolina governor/Foghorn Leghorn impersonator Henry McMasterrefused to mandate masks or meaningful closures and instead declared we were “open for business.” Nearly 13,000 South Carolinians have died as a result, but Charleston’s hospitality industry—a vital engine of the state’s economy—survived. Now, with our third wave (hopefully) breaking, and vaccinations (finally) getting somewhere, the stag/hen parties are once again maskless, hammered, and out in full “Covid’s over” force on King Street.
Can you blame me for heading to the beach instead? Hopefully not! Anyway, as I watched a high-heeled bachelorette party clatter across Charleston’s dismal sidewalks towards one of its more meat-market-y bars the other night, I found myself wondering:
Which American city is the most overrun by bachelor and bachelorette parties?
Is it oh-so-Instagrammable Charleston? Nashville, with its opportunities for cowboy cosplay and rapid gentrification? Austin, with its 6th Street megabars and Lake Travis party coves? Somewhere else? Inquiring minds (read: your fearless Fingers editor) would like to know. See you in the comments!—Dave
I went to New Orleans for a friend's bachelorette party and we kept befriending bachelor parties. They were EVERYWHERE. Didn't see a whole lot of other bachelorettes though.
I dragged all my friends to Tampa for mine for Gasparilla. Unsure if they enjoyed themselves, but the pictures of me with a veil and a pirate hat were totally worth it.
I've also noticed an uptick in bachelorette parties in Salem in the past couple years, usually wearing witch hats. I have no idea what they do other than walk around though. Decidedly no male equivalents.
Tampa is a good dark-horse pick. Spanish moss Instas and pirate costumes by day, booze cruises and decidedly sloppier pirate costumes by night. Win, win!
The Salem thing is interesting. Is this like... a generation of girls raised on 'Hocus Pocus' coming of age? What's the general perception of witch-related tourism amongst Salem residents, generally? I have to imagine at least some people there aren't stoked (ahem) about celebrating that legacy.
It's tricky! Obviously it's nice that people come to our town and spend money and keep our businesses open and our property taxes low (I'm so old) but it just feels a little squicky when you know the actual history of what happened. Apparently they only started ramping up the witch thing in the last 30ish years. Before that, the town was all about its history as the once richest port in the colonies, but apparently it's harder to get people to visit to learn about the spice trade than the theocratic persecution of women (and some men). I've never actually done any of the tours or museums (should probably get on that) so I don't know how historically accurate they are, but I've read a few books about it. Ryan would sooner volunteer for the gallows than visit the Witch Museum so it would have to be a solo mission.
The other thing I don't know is if these people visiting ACTually understand how grim the history is. They only installed a memorial to the victims in the 90s and the site of the gallows was only discovered a couple years ago. We have a statue of Elizabeth Montgomery from Bewitched downtown, which makes no sense because that show didn't even take place here.
You're definitely right about Hocus Pocus. Is it me or is Hocus Pocus WAY more of a thing now than when we were little? I didn't see it until we moved to Salem. We live two blocks from the house the kids in the movie lived in, slightly outside of all the hoopla, but we still get tourists coming out to see it. The people who live in it are really good natured about it and put out a table of photo props for people to take pictures. Pretty sure the neighbors hate them.
Yeah their neighbors DEFINITELY hate them. And yes: Hocus Pocus, way more of a thing now.
Wait also does Salem have like... bachelorette party-appropriate bars? Or do they just take over the local sports bars and ruin everyone's Pats/Celtics/Bruins/Cannons Lax gameday experience?
NO! That's the thing I don't get! We have 2 breweries, a cidery and a distillery, a couple bougie cocktail spots, a couple dives and then college bars. Maybe the college bars do the DJ/dancefloor thing but I am far too old to even be let in.
Gonna fuck around and pitch a trend piece to, like, The Knot about how Salem is THE under-the-radar destination for former-goth brides. Can I count on you for sourcing/art?
I'm loaded on Bud Light Candy Corn Seltzer, staggering through the streets of Salem, wearing a witch hat and a sash that reads "Spooky and Spoken For." I ask all passers-by within earshot if they know where Jess Infante lives. "She writes for Brewbound... we're not related, can you believe it?!" I slur. Mothers pull their trick-or-treating broods away from me. Above, a single raven circles.
I was in Austin once for a conference and there was a bachelorette party every ten feet. I've also done two bachelor parties in New Orleans, and that place is permanently in bachelor mode.
Yeah I think Austin is a pretty strong contender. I was there for a bachelor party three years ago, and remember roving around in a pack of dudes and just repeatedly running into other packs of dudes that were obviously doing the exact same thing. It was like a cringier 'Bizarro Jerry.' 0/10, do not recommend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc_f-0DCGI0
New Orleans is an interesting pick. I feel like, similar to Vegas, it actually has enough default mayhem and standalone drinking culture to sort of absorb the bachelor/ette parties into the mix without being overwhelmed by them, you know?
Ooooh, Key West is a good pick, that honestly wasn't even on my radar. How much of the Key West economy is comprised of sales of those "SAME DICK FOREVER" shiny balloon arrangements? Like... a non-zero percentage, right?
Yeah see, I do feel like there's a distinction between those first-tier cities and the rest of 'em. Like, NYC and LA probably have more bachelor/ette parties annually, just in terms of raw numbers, and lord knows Vegas probably has every other city beat on that metric. But you'd be hard-press—or at least, I'd be hard-pressed—to make the case that those cities are lousy with bachelor/ette parties the same way a Nashville or a Charleston is, you know? There's just too much else going on there. Whereas some single-digit but not-insignificant percentage of ALL hospitality dollars spent in, say, Savannah GA are directly tied to stag/hen parties—and if you've ever hazarded a walk down River Street dodging the sashed-and-smashed droves, you FEEL it.
I went to New Orleans for a friend's bachelorette party and we kept befriending bachelor parties. They were EVERYWHERE. Didn't see a whole lot of other bachelorettes though.
I dragged all my friends to Tampa for mine for Gasparilla. Unsure if they enjoyed themselves, but the pictures of me with a veil and a pirate hat were totally worth it.
I've also noticed an uptick in bachelorette parties in Salem in the past couple years, usually wearing witch hats. I have no idea what they do other than walk around though. Decidedly no male equivalents.
Tampa is a good dark-horse pick. Spanish moss Instas and pirate costumes by day, booze cruises and decidedly sloppier pirate costumes by night. Win, win!
The Salem thing is interesting. Is this like... a generation of girls raised on 'Hocus Pocus' coming of age? What's the general perception of witch-related tourism amongst Salem residents, generally? I have to imagine at least some people there aren't stoked (ahem) about celebrating that legacy.
It's tricky! Obviously it's nice that people come to our town and spend money and keep our businesses open and our property taxes low (I'm so old) but it just feels a little squicky when you know the actual history of what happened. Apparently they only started ramping up the witch thing in the last 30ish years. Before that, the town was all about its history as the once richest port in the colonies, but apparently it's harder to get people to visit to learn about the spice trade than the theocratic persecution of women (and some men). I've never actually done any of the tours or museums (should probably get on that) so I don't know how historically accurate they are, but I've read a few books about it. Ryan would sooner volunteer for the gallows than visit the Witch Museum so it would have to be a solo mission.
The other thing I don't know is if these people visiting ACTually understand how grim the history is. They only installed a memorial to the victims in the 90s and the site of the gallows was only discovered a couple years ago. We have a statue of Elizabeth Montgomery from Bewitched downtown, which makes no sense because that show didn't even take place here.
You're definitely right about Hocus Pocus. Is it me or is Hocus Pocus WAY more of a thing now than when we were little? I didn't see it until we moved to Salem. We live two blocks from the house the kids in the movie lived in, slightly outside of all the hoopla, but we still get tourists coming out to see it. The people who live in it are really good natured about it and put out a table of photo props for people to take pictures. Pretty sure the neighbors hate them.
Yeah their neighbors DEFINITELY hate them. And yes: Hocus Pocus, way more of a thing now.
Wait also does Salem have like... bachelorette party-appropriate bars? Or do they just take over the local sports bars and ruin everyone's Pats/Celtics/Bruins/Cannons Lax gameday experience?
NO! That's the thing I don't get! We have 2 breweries, a cidery and a distillery, a couple bougie cocktail spots, a couple dives and then college bars. Maybe the college bars do the DJ/dancefloor thing but I am far too old to even be let in.
Gonna fuck around and pitch a trend piece to, like, The Knot about how Salem is THE under-the-radar destination for former-goth brides. Can I count on you for sourcing/art?
I got you. Will skulk around downtown this weekend looking for witchbrides.
Strong American Horror Story: Coven vibes here!!! I kind of love it.
*smash cut to Halloween 2021*
I'm loaded on Bud Light Candy Corn Seltzer, staggering through the streets of Salem, wearing a witch hat and a sash that reads "Spooky and Spoken For." I ask all passers-by within earshot if they know where Jess Infante lives. "She writes for Brewbound... we're not related, can you believe it?!" I slur. Mothers pull their trick-or-treating broods away from me. Above, a single raven circles.
Please make this happen.
I was in Austin once for a conference and there was a bachelorette party every ten feet. I've also done two bachelor parties in New Orleans, and that place is permanently in bachelor mode.
Yeah I think Austin is a pretty strong contender. I was there for a bachelor party three years ago, and remember roving around in a pack of dudes and just repeatedly running into other packs of dudes that were obviously doing the exact same thing. It was like a cringier 'Bizarro Jerry.' 0/10, do not recommend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc_f-0DCGI0
New Orleans is an interesting pick. I feel like, similar to Vegas, it actually has enough default mayhem and standalone drinking culture to sort of absorb the bachelor/ette parties into the mix without being overwhelmed by them, you know?
Ooooh, Key West is a good pick, that honestly wasn't even on my radar. How much of the Key West economy is comprised of sales of those "SAME DICK FOREVER" shiny balloon arrangements? Like... a non-zero percentage, right?
Bachelorette gag gifts: not exempt from the butterfly effect!
Yeah see, I do feel like there's a distinction between those first-tier cities and the rest of 'em. Like, NYC and LA probably have more bachelor/ette parties annually, just in terms of raw numbers, and lord knows Vegas probably has every other city beat on that metric. But you'd be hard-press—or at least, I'd be hard-pressed—to make the case that those cities are lousy with bachelor/ette parties the same way a Nashville or a Charleston is, you know? There's just too much else going on there. Whereas some single-digit but not-insignificant percentage of ALL hospitality dollars spent in, say, Savannah GA are directly tied to stag/hen parties—and if you've ever hazarded a walk down River Street dodging the sashed-and-smashed droves, you FEEL it.