READ CAREFULLY & FILL OUT ASAP

This page contains information on, as well as the form for signing your bar up for the 2016 Reno Mardi Crawl! In order to secure your spot please fill it out as soon as possible. The official due date is Monday, January 16th (Now extended to Tuesday, January 17th) but the 15 spots available will fill up by then so don’t miss out!

This year’s Mardi Crawl is coming Saturday, February 11th! Each year the event will be on the second Saturday in February, though actual Mardi Gras moves around the calendar.

Once you sign up, you will get:
  • Listed on this year’s official posters coming out early next week (we’ve had teasers out for months!)
  • Listed on our website (3-5,000 visitors a month)
  • An official announcement on our Facebook page listing your involvement (over 14,000 fans)
  • Cups and maps to sell to make back a portion of your participation fee (delivered Friday, 1/20))
  • 100 sets of Mardi Gras beads for your bar to give away on crawl night! (delivered Friday, 1/20)

Last year we had 15 bars on and we’re going to keep that number this year, even though we anticipate the event growing. Our first Mardi Crawl was last year and it was a huge success! We attracted nearly 2,000 attendees downtown for the crawl, every bar had beads to give out and we even hosted a surprise foot parade with a walking band, stilt walkers, other performers and of course, crawlers! This year’s event will be even better!

Please be advised that since we only have 15 stops, multi-bar venues and those who own multiple bars will each be limited to one bar so that we can provide a diverse event that benefits as many people and businesses as possible!

HOW TO GET FEATURED ON THE MAP

We’d love to feature your spot! Just offer things that stand out above what’s required! Here’s what our map looked like last year- this year we’ll be making a few changes as we continue to grow and evolve, but this is a great reference:

Last Year’s Map:
1. FOCUS ON VALUE AND ENTERTAINMENT

The City and the Reno Sparks Convention and Visitors Bureau sponsored a study of event attendants this year and discovered that the TWO MAIN things that draw people to particular events are:

  1. Value: they want to know they’re saving money or getting a lot for their buck
  2. Entertainment: they want to see something cool
2. PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT CRAWLERS HAVE ASKED FOR

In our annual survey this year, crawlers were asked how they’d like to see the crawls improve and they wanted:

  1. MORE THEMED DRINK & BEER SPECIALS: They aren’t very attracted to drinks they haven’t heard of. We have a list below of drinks people want to see at a Mardi Gras event
  2. CONSISTENCY: If you have a costume contest listed, they want it to happen on time, and some said they encountered bars this year who stopped offering specials before the event ended. We’re not sure if that happened on any of our events but please take note.
  3. OUR NEW PREMIUM SPECIALS: Crawlers are following the trends of craft beers and cocktails, asking for some premium options. Along with the $3 drink special and $3 beer special, we’ve added a new spot, the PREMIUM SPECIAL. We ask that you price this one at $5 or more and make sure it’s discounted from what you’d usually charge for it. Other than that, you choose whether to offer a premium beer or cocktail and what that will be!
3. DON’T DO THE BARE MINIMUM

This year lets wow our crawlers even more than we ever have before! The more you get into the event the more we’ll promote your venue!

  • OFFER GREAT SPECIALS: The number one thing they want is value. You’re required to offer two $3 specials but you can add additional specials of all kinds.
  • HOST ENTERTAINMENT: The number two thing they want is entertainment. How will you offer something special?
  • GIVE-AWAYS: detailed above.
  • HAVE A GREAT CONTEST: Must have an enticing prize and you’ve GOT to be on time. Crawlers know which venues are known for this- or not.
  • MAKE SURE YOUR STAFF DRESSES UP: that’s all part of making the event a more immersive experience
4. WORK WITH OUR THEME: THE BIG EASY IN THE LITTLE CITY

Here are some ideas for ways you could incorporate the theme:

MARDI GRAS DRINKS

  • Hurricane
  • Hand Grenade
  • Sloe Gin Fizz
  • Creolo
  • Red Rooster

ENTERTAINMENT

  • Brass bands, Cajun Bands, Zydeco Bands
  • Costumed go-go dancers

GIVE-AWAYS

  • Beads! We’re providing some for you but it’s always a great idea to get some more, exclusive to your pace! There’s a million different kinds online.
  • You could throw them from a roof or balcony at a certain time!

COSTUMES FOR STAFF

  • The Colors: Purple, Green and Gold
  • Mardi Gras beads
  • Masks (probably not feasible for bartenders but go-go dancers!)
5. MARKET THE CRAWL

Bars who do a great job marketing get the most people on crawl night! After you fill out this form you’ll be taken to a page that lists our official Facebook events, images for you to download and tips to help with your online marketing.

  • COMMUNICATE ON OUR EVENT: Post comments on the OFFICIAL EVENT PAGE often. Let them know what you’re doing and why to come to your bar on crawl night!
  • INVITE PEOPLE TO OUR FACEBOOK EVENT: The more people get invited on there the better. Separate events are fine but they don’t have the reach ours does.
  • ADD OUR OFFICIAL EVENT TO YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE: You will be forwarded to a page containing instructions after you submit this form
DESIGNATED DRIVER BRACELETS

DD-bracelets

In order to support designated drivers, earlier this year we added red DD bracelets for crawlers to pick up at our cup tables. These bracelets, as you will notice in the agreement below, allow wearers to free sodas at your stop during the crawl. We have also added an area in the form for you to announce any other perks you want to reward DDs with. They keep our event safe, so let’s make sure they feel the love! DD perks will be listed on the map.

Read This: Terms and Conditions

Every single one of our terms and conditions are very important. By submitting this form, you agree to the following terms and conditions. Bars who violate these terms may not be invited to future events.

  • CRAWL DURATION: I understand the crawl lasts from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am or when my venue closes. We will be open for crawlers by 7pm and extend our specials to participants for the duration of the crawl or until we close.
  • SPECIALS: My venue will offer at least one $3 beer special, one $3 drink special and one Premium Special priced $5 or more to participants. (You may also post other specials of varying prices as you wish.)
  • CHECKING IDS: My venue will ID every patron at the door and at the bar in order to ensure that no minor enters my bar, or gets served.
  • DESIGNATED DRIVER BRACELETS: My venue will offer free sodas to crawlers with designated driver bracelets
  • RED OPEN CONTAINER BARRELS: My venue will put our red open container barrel by our front door (if you’ve never received one we will provide one)
  • HONOR PRESS/VOLUNTEER PASSES: (Crawl Reno prints a small amount of passes for our photographers and volunteers to be able to skip lines.) My venue will honor those.
  • POSTER DISPLAY: My venue will keep 3 event posters in prominent places until after the event. I also agree to display other Crawl Reno posters and calendars regardless of whether you are on every crawl.
  • SPECIALS ARE FOR CUP HOLDING PARTICIPANTS ONLY: My venue will not extend specials to people without crawl cups. Instead, we will sell them a cup or direct them to a start bar to purchase their cups.
  • NO COVER FOR CUP-HOLDING PARTICIPANTS: My venue will not charge crawl participants cover. Even if our venue has a cover on crawl night, we will not charge anyone who possesses a cup for this event.
  • CLEANING UP: I will make sure the area around my venue is clean by the next morning.
  • LINE MANAGEMENT: We will keep any lines of participants from spilling into the street.
  • PROMOTING THE CRAWL: We will promote the crawl by posting to our Facebook friends, inviting our friends list to the crawl event and mentioning it on all of our social media accounts.

All inputs marked with an asterisk are mandatory

Participation Fee for your Venue: $200

You will receive 15 Crawl cups you can sell for $5 a piece to make back $75