We started this tradition many years before Rocky's ever existed, and
it used to be a mobile champagne party, driving around Sosua with my 5 ton
veggie truck.
As the years went by, people actually phoned me ahead of time, to
reserve a seat in the back, and the party got bigger & bigger each year, just
driving around, blasting good music and sharing champagne with whomever we chose to.
When I started Rocky's, I didn't want to commercialize the event, so I
just dug deeper into my pockets to buy more champagne and gave it out for
free, to the patrons, as well as on the "champagne runs".
One of the things that struck me, was how many kids wanted to
participate and have a drink, so it inspired me to start buying presents for the kids.
I suppose that would have been 5 or 6 years ago.
Anyhow, I would purchase toys and dolls, etc, and colour code the
wrapping paper to identify which presents were for boys, girls or toddlers.
As time went on, some friends & family offered to chip in.
Last year, we had 125 bottles of champagne & 550 presents.
Now, I got to tell you... When you pull up to a poor barrio, before
midnight on New Year's Eve, and there's no electricity, so our convoy of
vehicles lights up the area, and the kids come running out, knocking on their
neighbours doors to come & join us, and we all stand around sharing
champagne with our Dominican brethren, and giving gifts to the kids,
there is nothing in the whole world that even starts to compare to it.
As Apostropheman said,
You have to be there to believe it, and I would certainly be glad if
any of you decided to join us.
We have a supper first, that we call the "Last Supper", usually steak,
potatoes & salad, along with home made pies & cakes, then as the evening
progresses, we get the convoy going, and usually do a couple of runs.
Although we now charge 20 bucks at the door, it includes the supper dessert, champagne and an open bar 'till 2 AM.
The only reason we started charging, was that it was getting too big
and we were attracting a bit of rifraf.
It's by far the biggest party in Sosua, and IMHO, the best darn party
on Earth.
Regards, Marco.
PS: For more on the subject, see http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45978
Anyone who would like to contribute to buying more Christmas presents for the kids, may PM or e-mail me.
Thank you.
it used to be a mobile champagne party, driving around Sosua with my 5 ton
veggie truck.
As the years went by, people actually phoned me ahead of time, to
reserve a seat in the back, and the party got bigger & bigger each year, just
driving around, blasting good music and sharing champagne with whomever we chose to.
When I started Rocky's, I didn't want to commercialize the event, so I
just dug deeper into my pockets to buy more champagne and gave it out for
free, to the patrons, as well as on the "champagne runs".
One of the things that struck me, was how many kids wanted to
participate and have a drink, so it inspired me to start buying presents for the kids.
I suppose that would have been 5 or 6 years ago.
Anyhow, I would purchase toys and dolls, etc, and colour code the
wrapping paper to identify which presents were for boys, girls or toddlers.
As time went on, some friends & family offered to chip in.
Last year, we had 125 bottles of champagne & 550 presents.
Now, I got to tell you... When you pull up to a poor barrio, before
midnight on New Year's Eve, and there's no electricity, so our convoy of
vehicles lights up the area, and the kids come running out, knocking on their
neighbours doors to come & join us, and we all stand around sharing
champagne with our Dominican brethren, and giving gifts to the kids,
there is nothing in the whole world that even starts to compare to it.
As Apostropheman said,
If that's not something different, nothing is.apostropheman said:ah, the "champagne run"! i was there for it last year and it was the highlight of my trip...my year really!
You have to be there to believe it, and I would certainly be glad if
any of you decided to join us.
We have a supper first, that we call the "Last Supper", usually steak,
potatoes & salad, along with home made pies & cakes, then as the evening
progresses, we get the convoy going, and usually do a couple of runs.
Although we now charge 20 bucks at the door, it includes the supper dessert, champagne and an open bar 'till 2 AM.
The only reason we started charging, was that it was getting too big
and we were attracting a bit of rifraf.
It's by far the biggest party in Sosua, and IMHO, the best darn party
on Earth.
Regards, Marco.
PS: For more on the subject, see http://dr1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45978
Anyone who would like to contribute to buying more Christmas presents for the kids, may PM or e-mail me.
Thank you.