Did you know that at one point Pepsi was the 6th largest navel power in the world, or that there is supposedly a box of dicks in the Vatican Museum?
These were just some of the surprising history stories I heard at the first meeting of the RVA Tipsy History Club, which launched under the name RVA Drunk History Club before a recent rebrand. The concept is simple: gather with a group of strangers, grab a drink if you’d like, and share a fascinating story from history.
If you’ve seen the Comedy Central show Drunk History, you already have a pretty good idea of the vibe, just with a little less alcohol involved (they get turnt on that show).
The club was founded by Ally, who moved here from Pennsylvania about a year and a half ago and was looking to expand her social circle.
“I just wanted to find an opportunity to make a co-ed friend group in a very low-pressure way.”
She started thinking about the things she was into and came up with the idea for a drunk history club. As a fan of history, she wanted something that wasn’t too serious and was aimed at adults.
She wasn’t sure how many people would be interested, so she set up the first meeting in Byrd Park on June 5 and made an Instagram post announcing the event. Overnight, it seemed to go viral. She currently has more than 5,000 followers less than two weeks after making the announcement.
About 250 to 300 people showed up in the park. Since the event was held in a public park, it was actually a sober history gathering. Some attendees even traveled from Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg, and Williamsburg to participate.
Since the crowd was so large, Ally decided to break everyone into smaller groups and set things up bracket-style. Everyone who wanted to tell a story got a chance to share one. If you just wanted to listen, that was fine too, and nobody was required to drink.
Each group voted on its favorite story, and those winners moved on to another round while the rest of the crowd mixed into new groups and shared more stories.
It was important to Ally that people got the chance to interact in smaller settings where things felt less intimidating and it was actually possible to meet new people.
“A big part of why I want to do this event is to give people the opportunity to make new friends,” she said. “So many people are struggling out there. I honestly think there is a loneliness crisis of both genders. They talk a lot more about it for men, but everyone is feeling very lonely and isolated.”
All the stories I heard were different and fascinating. The winner from my breakout group told a story about Richard Nixon smuggling pounds of weed through an airport for Louis Armstrong.
Ally only got to hear the final two stories because she spent most of the evening handling logistics and talking with people interested in helping organize future events. Still, she said many attendees came up afterward to thank her for hosting.
“They were like, ‘I learned a story about the Richmond vampires,’ or ‘I learned a story about the nuclear war that was just narrowly evaded,'” she said. “It was just really cool to hear that and be like, oh, I almost wish I was in your group, you know?”
There won’t be brackets in the future. Instead, Ally is thinking about doing themed nights.
“I would love to have a brewery thing where the first half is in smaller groups and you’re sharing whatever’s on theme, and it’s just little shorter stories. Then, for the second half, somebody does a total deep dive PowerPoint presentation. That takes more prep. So I’m thinking that’s going to start in July, and our next meeting will be another casual one.”
She is also toying with the idea of having people submit a two-minute “audition” pitch as a voice recording for the featured presentation. There will also be some sober park picnics for those who don’t imbibe.
She is currently in the process of reaching out to breweries, though several venues have already reached out to her offering to host.
“Black Heath Meadery was one of the first people to reach out, and they do mead, which is the historical thing. So I think they’re awesome.”
Since they are on the smaller side, she plans to use them for more intimate events. Other venues that have expressed interest include The Veil, Hardywood, City Dogs, Buskey Cider, and even Libby Hill Park, which will host the club’s next gathering.
A theater company has also reached out about the possibility of doing something closer to the Comedy Central show, where the stories are acted out live on stage as they’re being told.
Even though the group is intended to be a lighthearted history storytelling night, there have been some concerns.
Ally told me about one message that stuck with her.
“There was a really earnest, very sweet, but very anxious message very early on where they reached out to me with this really long message concerned about how I was going to protect against misinformation and bias,” she said. “And I was like, uh, it’s drunk history. There’s going to be misinformation and bias. My hope is that at the beginning of each night we’ll have a disclaimer about that and be like, ‘This might not be accurate, especially if somebody’s getting drunk as they’re telling it.'”
Aside from concerns about misinformation, others have wondered how political the discussions might become, something Ally thinks is a fair question.
She wants to stress that things should be pretty light hearted and fun, not super political stuff, “I think that can go sideways really quick. And then I also think this is a great platform to get people to know certain things but I do think if people are getting drunk, it also might not be respectful of the topic at hand. I want to keep it light. I know that there’s pros and cons to that.”
Even though the club is still in its infancy, it is already attracting a surprising amount of interest and enthusiasm.
The next meetup is scheduled for June 20 at 6 p.m. at Libby Hill Park. Like the first gathering, this one will be alcohol-free, though Ally says the group is actively looking for a brewery or other venue for future events.
Be sure to follow the club’s Instagram @rvatipsyhistory for updates, and fill out the survey linked in the bio if you’d like to be added to the mailing list.
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