I’ve been invited to a benefit at Crusens Bar on Farmington Road which is for the Greater Peoria Honor Flight organization. I’m not quite sure what this organization is all about, but there’s beer there and it’s at a bar I’ve never been to, so let’s go find out.
It's a rainy night out as I head up Main Street on my way to Farmington Road to Crusens Bar.
Here we are, this is one big bar and I like all the neon on the outside. Speaking of outside, it's raining out here, so let's get inside.
There's a decent crowd in here and right after I snapped this photo a bouncer came up and told me I'd have to get permission from the owner to take photos inside of here. He pointed him out at the end of the bar, so let's go get permission.
And here's the co-owner of the bar, Wayne, who gave me permission to snap away. So I took a photo of him flanked by Avalon and Britni.
Wayne called the two bartenders on duty over for a photo. Here's Cory and Collin. I ordered a beer and tried to get them to pose doing the one and two finger salute, but was told I'd have to wait to do that. I'm not a big fan of waiting, so I guess that's not going to happen in this post.
There's a large room with tables opposite the bar.
And there's more tables in this back room, which is a step up from the main room.
Self-serve popcorn machine...
Which is empty. Now that's just sad!
Here's the booth for the Greater Peoria Honor Flight organization. I was told the host for this event was Heidi and I wonder where she is.
Well, here she is, hoisting a t-shirt that's for sale. Heidi explained that what they're doing is help fund a mission to fly veterans to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. which was completed in 2004. The first flight from Peoria takes off on June 4th and you can read more about this mission and how you can send a donation and help get this off the ground right here: Greater Peoria Honor Flight.
There were items for sale to help fund this project.
Here's Alma who was volunteering at the booth showing off a t-shirt.
And through the magic of the interwebs, here I am in a freshly purchased t-shirt.
Here's a shot from the back of the bar, there's an acoustic duo playing up front, let's go check them out.
Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for, Timmy and Bella!
Unplugged and barefoot! Heidi told me that they played for free and that 95.5 WGLO donated DJ's and sound for tonight's event, very nice!
Here's a shot from the end of the bar.
There's a wide variety of beers on tap here behind the bar.
Dueling t-shirts! Cheers from Heidi and I and don't forget to donate to this great cause, the flight goes out in less than a week, help get it off the ground by donating here. Thanks and we'll see you all tomorrow.
Further Reading: Greater Peoria Honor Flight, PJ Star and Courier Newspapers.
