Totally Spies, Pablo Escobar, Paula Dean, Gordon Ramsey, three Guy Fieris and many more made an appearance at The Devil’s Crawl on Saturday, Oct. 26. The $15 tickets included free admission to over 50 locations and included five free drink tickets. Philadelphia embraced Halloween, as it does every year with drinking, costumes, music and dancing. Each bar held a different appeal with freebies, house drinks and different groups of fun and clever costumes.
On an average weekend, walking around the streets of Center City at night is like traveling through a tunnel. You may pass a number of places and destinations, simply as a passerby. On Hallo-weekend, restaurant goers fawned over costumes through windows onlooking the streets, seemingly delighted at the free entertainment that was overwhelming the night. Other passersby flagged down groups with clever costumes, looking for pictures to document their find. Philadelphia showed off its charm as strangers continued to express friendliness and community through admiration for creativity and commitment to costumes.
The crawl was based around bars in Center City who embraced the Hallo-weekend spirit by providing free items upon arrival. Thrilled participants took advantage of the freebies and brightened the mood of the bars with clever costume designs and dancing. For example, Ladder gave VIP ticket holders chips, Mardi Gras necklaces and other festive gifts. The over 50 bars that participated in the bar crawl included a Bernie’s, Cavanaugh’s, Fox&Hound, Ladder 15 and Raven Lounge.
While the Devil’s Crawl website cites that the bars are specifically Center City destinations, the numerous bars that are included in the VIP deal include those from all over the city. University City, Old City, Fishtown and Center City destinations attracted groups from all over. People from Drexel, Temple, Penn, bachelorette parties, young professionals and other Philly locals all took part in the event. The five free drinks and the cover charge waive proved it to be among the best deals for bar crawls over Hallo-weekend, and a tough deal to turn down.
The Devil’s Crawl has a lot to offer from a financial perspective. It provides what feels like limitless options in terms of where to start and end the night. On top of that, free drinks and freebies are awarded to many participants, as well as numerous costume contests celebrating the holiday by adding a competitive aspect to the night. More than anything, the crawl united a large-standing community of people who simply appreciated each other and allowed the city to embrace the fun and festive aspects that Halloween allows. It’s not every day that you see an entire group of celebrity chefs from the Food Network in a bar with Pablo Escobar, a hot dog and characters from Star Trek. The Devil’s Crawl is a fun and affordable to experience a number of bars in Philadelphia while being entertained by fellow Philadelphians embracing Hallo-weekend.