If you live in Buffalo, there is an entire culture that’s hiding in plain sight. You may or may not know about it, but it is a culture that is built around Lawn Fetes. Pronounced ‘FATE’, lawn fetes as we know them in Western NY are gigantic cash-grab parties thrown predominantly by churches in the summer months. There is aggressive amounts of drinking, gambling, rides, food, and games. Its all stuff you wouldn’t technically associate with god and baby jesus, but they allow for churches to raise money to assist with operational costs and missionary work(?). The fundamental draw to a lawn fete, is a beer tent that you could play a regulation size game of football under. Ok, not that big, but definitely huge, and usually set up with a live musical act that plays classic rock tunes to keep you entertained.

Here’s a decent list of some (not all) of the fetes coming up in WNY – more searching or looking on the side of the road for signs will surely turn up more parties.

One of the largest lawn fetes that I’ve had the luxury of attending, is the Queen of Heaven lawn fete, which was actually this past weekend! We went early on Friday night, and got right to it – I highly suggest having a pregame beverage before going into these things – you’re going to need it. In this case, the Mrs took advantage of 2 for $6 Four Locos, which are terrible, but at 14%abv, your biggest bang for your dollar at 7/11. This one tasted like Vodka Redbulls that someone spilled their stale ass beer into.

But it gets you primed and ready for seeing the sights.

Parking is limited – your best bet is to pay for something nearby – usually $5.

Oh and here we go – greeted with a huge temptation to gamble in the house of the lord:

Thank you for roping it off!

Ok, now what about the rules? Well, there aren’t many, but this sign that an event looking to give away $20k as a top prize can afford spells it out for you:

Here’s a few pictures of what you see when you get in:

All sorts of people looking to have a good time!

Speaking of good times, let’s talk beer! They have a whole ‘craft beer’ section – so we went and checked that out first. Notice the pricing – They used to entice you to buy the 32oz mug, then make the mug refill a buck cheaper than if you just bought a 32oz plastic cup. Looks like they didn’t go with that concept this time around.

I still bought a mug, because they make awesome water cups when you’re hungover. They just fit in your hand perfectly, and they’re fun to slam. The pub section had peanuts! Please note, the pub section is different than the ‘beer tent’ – I’ll get to that in a few.

oh hey – here I am enjoying 32oz of summer ale, wearing my wife’s sunglasses! good thing all that orange netting is there to keep me from falling off the cliff behind me… nice table though, right? We waited here for our friends Jessie and Joe to show up – probably easier to find us here than in the huge beer tent..

Ok, now it was time to check out the tent: Look at the size of this damn thing:

Make sure you have your ID handy – they ID everyone. Here’s a look inside:

Oh and a little added bonus? WNY Treasure- Channel 2’s Melissa Holmes was one of the servers serving up beer in the beer tent!  Had to get a selfie! I’m not good at meeting celebrities…

Anyways, pounded a few 32oz beers, then headed to Conlons for some late night eats – our friend Jessie has celiac’s, and Conlons is one of the trustworthy places she can dine – I can eat just about anything anywhere, so I had no problem trying them out! It’s a pretty cool south Buffalo bar!

Check out the story on the menu – some interesting Buffalo Irish history on there – particularly the last paragraph…

I had some stuffed mushrooms and some ‘house extra hot’ wings.. both pretty good – worth checking out.