Speakeasy on Starling

Friends Bob & Yvonne accompanied Brugger and me to a uniqueand entertaining event last night at theVirginia Museum of Natural History — "Speakeasy on Starling" it was called ("Starling" referring to thestreet address of the Museum). This was a fun, fund-raising event for which youreally got your money's worth — heavy hors d'oeuvres (good ones, too!), beer,wine, and other spirits, including a bourbon and mojito tasting. Some damn goodbourbons on hand, I must admit. The tasting quantities were small, but theypacked a pretty good wallop. A silent auction of some particularly nice spirits(none of us won) and a Velociraptor egg hunt, which netted everyone a nicelittle prize (a Long Island Iced Tea for me), added to the fun. Mostentertaining was that, in order to learn the whereabouts of the bourbon tasting,you had to follow clues around the museum and then be escorted to it by staffmember/journalist/friend Ben R. Williams. I also encountered a couple ofold friends from days long past in the old hometown.
Afterward, our gang retired to Ground Zero, where we enjoyed some rocking tunes and sampled a few more spirits. I'd love to see the museum make this a regular event. It was a touch of what we figure some much-needed culture in our little burg. Plus, that museum is full of dinosaurs. I figure you can't go too far wrong with spirits and dinosaurs.
The password was "Claws," by the way. A velociraptor photobombing the group making their way to the bourbon tasting