History of TBOX: 2009, The 14th

TBOX #14 – The First Themed TBOX -The Class of… (2009)

The 4 Teams of TBOX 2009

TBOX 2009 had over 7,000 people, and it was our first Themed TBOX – The Class of 2009 High School Yearbook Theme. If you missed the Prom Queens, the Jocks, the Nerds, the Bullies, P.E., and all the other great things about school, TBOX2009 had it… but with Beer!

The following is told in first person by TBOX Founder Christopher Festa… Over 7,200 people participated in TBOX 2009, Festa’s 14th Annual Twelve Bars Of Xmas Pub Crawl in Wrigleyville, Chicago. Taking place on December 12, this was the BIGGEST TBOX to date! Starting at The Cubby Bear at 8:30am, and ending at The Cubby Bear at Closing Time, it was a beautiful day of winter madness, crazy costumes, manic energy, 73,000 stickers, cereal absolutely everywhere, spectacular opening ceremonies, dramatic closing ceremonies, and a total blast for over 18 hours across 36 bars, with people coming in from all over the USA and the world to go WIRE TO WIRE and enjoy what has become one of Chicago’s most beloved annual events.

TBOX2009 was the first to feature a fully-developed “THEME” – a High School Yearbook Theme in which everyone was encouraged to dress as their favorite high school character or cliche. Participants were split into 4 round-robin routes named after famous fictional high schools… Rydell High, Save Ferris, Ridgemont High, and Bayside Tigers. The TBOX Opening Ceremonies had really started becoming elaborate at this time, with a countdown video, attendance bell ringing at the Cubby Bear at 11am, and a packed house of onlookers awaiting “Principal Festa to Address the Student Body in 5 Minutes.” Immediately following, on every TV Screen, a giant countdown clock counted the hundredths of a second until the ceremonies were to begin in 5 minutes. When the final bell rang, 4 dignitaries… Fuji, Biggins, Tracey K, and Sarah K… walked to the Corners of the Stage with Dark Sunglasses. Then, Mr. Festa and the six TBOX Interns walked to the Center of the Stage and, as music played, they flipped signs reading TBOX IS HERE / TBOX IS NOW / ZERO DAYS TILL TBOX! Cereal showered through the audience, and then, with POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME playing, each of the four TBOX CLASS OF 2009 “High Schools” marched out one by one as each Royal Court Member was DOUSED with cereal. Once they all took their places onstage, Mr. Festa made the announcement, set to the Prince Intro Organ Music, Cereal showered through the audience, and then, with POUR SOME SUGAR ON ME playing, each of the four TBOX CLASS OF 2009 “High Schools” marched out one by one as each Royal Court Member was DOUSED with cereal. Once they all took their places onstage, Mr. Festa made the announcement, set to the Prince Intro Organ Music, Then, The TBOX2009 NUMBER ONE, Harold, burst through the Gift Wrap Paper and was smothered from all sides with over 50 boxes of cereal as “Let’s Go Crazy” blasted from the speakers! And then… after partying at Cubby Bear from 830am to Noon, the four teams split up and went on their routes around Wrigleyville, to do the crawl and prepare to re-unite 10 hours later! We had a lot of fun assigning our Royal Court “roles” in the high school and putting them all on the back of the TBOX 2009 Program.