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December 2, 2014 at 10:20am

Drinking for Conservation to host Drinks for Lynx at ParkWay Tavern

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Some people are just not "people" people. Some people are dog people, some are cat people and some are just plain animal people. If you are an animal person, or would like to at least keep animals on the planet, you need to go be around party animals Wednesday, Dec. 10.

You need to know a few things first. You don't have to say "fuzzy duck" to the person on your left, drink like a T-Rex or chase Ping-Pong balls. And you won't be freezing your ass off at the zoo; although it's no coincidence that one of the only words you can form from the letters in booze is zoo. No, really, it's totally deliberate; people love to get liquored up around caged animals (see: Zoobilee). No, the game you need to be concerned with Dec. 10 is wild game.

If this sounds like altogether too much mumbo-jumbo for you, I apologize, it's my writing style.

Actually, the event I'm babbling about isn't a party animal situation, but rather a party about animals. The ParkWay Tavern will host animal AND people person Suzanne Akerman and her Drinking for Conservation organization's "Drinks for Lynx" night Wednesday, Dec. 10. Like most people, Akerman has spent many sleepless nights pondering the plight of lynx in the Pacific Northwest, which first gained federal protection as a threatened species in 2002. Then again, maybe you haven't. She has. And, it's time you atoned for your environmentally apathetic ways. Fifty cents of every beer, cider and wine sold between 6 and 10 p.m. at the ParkWay will go to help Conservation Northwest protect the lynx.

"Drinking for Conservation is part of a larger organization called the Point Defiance Chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers," says Akerman. "That's not super important though, what IS important is that we are dedicated to raising funds for and awareness of endangered species around the world. The first Drinking for Conservation event was Pints for Pandas at the ParkWay Aug. 9, 2011. Whitney Weibel and I are co-chairs of the DFC committee. She heard about a very similar fundraiser done by a chapter of the zookeepers' association in the Bay Area in Cali. She wanted to try the same thing here, and at first we did an event about quarterly, but we've been ramping things up. Now we try to do one per month."

DFC donates to organizations with missions the committee believes in - helping animals and the environment. Then, Akerman and her fellow animal people find cool organizations with big hearts, such as the ParkWay Tavern and Doyle's Public House, to donate to the cause, let them roam through the establishment to chat up conservation, and in Akerman's case, dress like the spotlight animal and, if need be, arm wrestle Hop Valley Brewing salespeople for extra donations. Since Pints for Pandas, DFC has promoted Libations for Lions, Sloshed for Seahorses, Buzzed for Bees and most recently at the ParkWay, Brews for Bats, where Akerman wore bat wings.

"The most recent organization was a suggestion we received through our Facebook page, where we promote the events," says Akerman. "The events range widely in the amounts they raise, depending on the day of the week, how busy the bar is, how ‘sexy' the animal we choose is. The largest amount ever raised at an event was close to $700; more typically we raise $300 or so, but our average is on the rise. Sometimes we choose charismatic mega-fauna, such as elephants or lions, but other times we choose animals whose importance might be overlooked, such as frogs or bats. When we talk to people in the bars, we try to tell them a little about the animal and it's significance. Hopefully some of them will be inspired to learn more about what they can do to help animals and be environmentally friendly."

One of DFC's lofty goals is to eventually find a brewery or winery that will partner with them to donate a portion of the proceeds from a beer or wine to Drinking for Conservation.

"Don't you think Animal Ale or Species Specialty would FLY off the shelves?" asks Akerman.

That's how animal people think.

They drink to help animals.

They drink to help the lynx.

I'll drink to that.

DRINKS FOR LYNX, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 6-10 p.m., ParkWay Tavern, 313 N. I St., Tacoma, no cover, facebook.com/Drinking.for.Conservation

Filed under: Benefits, New Beer Column, Tacoma,
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Served, a blog by the Weekly Volcano, is the region’s feedbag of fresh chow daily, local restaurant news, New Beer Column, bar and restaurant openings and closings, breaking culinary news and breaking culinary ground - all brought to the table with a dollop of Internet frivolity on top.

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