Yesterday it was pretty hot in our area (I saw 100 degrees F!) and people who ventured out were happy to slip into FSB for some cool air, cold beer, and sparkling personalities.
Speaking of . . . . two of the first people I saw were Sarah Barbee (@fussbudgetpromo on Twitter) of FussBudget Promotions (among many active, successful ventures) and fellow REALTOR and powerful financial planner Katherine Hunsley. The cool thing, IMHO, is that Sarah and Katherine, downtown habituees active and well known in their respective circles, hadn't met before. (Of course you'd never sense that from the photo below I took within 5 minutes of their meeting each other - and before either had a drink! It's a Wilmington thing - people are just flat out friendly.)
ActionCOACH Reggie Shropshire and performance diagnostician and career brander Sabina Newman of SCN Insight had a chance to chat as well.
An FSB feature is beer tasting, with samples poured from Growlers (the bottles, not the women). Two of FSB's beertenders were ready to pour and quick to strike a pose.
The mezzanine level at Front Street Brewery started to fill as more people arrived.
Jim Bitto of Cape Fear River Watch had a small display and was eager to talk about the organization's many programs focused on protecting and improving water quality of the lower Cape Fear River Basin. Front Street Brewery also participates in a benefit program for CFRW in which a donation is made for every serving of Organic Hefeweizen beer brewed right at FSB.
There was also a display of blown glass art at the event. Below Mike Loch (glass blower and co-owner of Crescent Moon gallery at the Cotton Exchange in Historic Downtown Wilmington) and local actor and accomplished glass artist Richard Bunting spoke about the state of the glass blowing art in our area.
The fabulous piece below was the work of several artists working simultaneously .
The gentleman in the white shirt below is Rick Harris. Rick has two companies, Cape Fear Green Solutions, a integrated landscaping concept company, and Cape Fear Rain Water Harvesting, Inc.
The device below demonstrates one of the technologies used in rainwater harvesting.
Just before I left Wilmington Star-News reporter Shannan Bowen (on the far left, @shanbow on Twitter) introduced me to three women at the event. Shannan may have the most interesting position at the Star-News, covering crime, breaking news, and social media. I confess I didn't get their last names, but Lindsay, the woman in the yellow top is a graduate student in UNCW's writing program, Elizabeth works in the court house, and Catherine is a pediatric nurse.
This was only the second Downtown Meet & Greet at Front Street Brewery but it was another well-attended event - even on an uncharacteristically hot day. See you next month at 5PM on August 5th at Front Street Brewery.
