Get a group of people together, offer cheap drinks, cheap food, and free stuff, and it's pretty much an instant party. City Newspaper held the Recession Procession Thursday, May 7, and we hit the South Wedge in our City t-shirts to hand out "F&!$ the Recession" buttons, maps detailing all the local businesses that had special deals for the evening, and City swag at a tent in Lux's Star Alley.

I got to the Wedge around 6 p.m., and the streets were already busy. Families pushed kids in strollers and stopped outside local eateries, lots of 20- and 30-somethings wandered about, taking advantage of deals at Godiva's, Open Face, and Solera. The line down the street outside Little Venice wrapped around the corner. They offered $1 slices of pizza as part of the event, and at one point ran out of pepperoni.

My friend Tommy and I started out at Caverly's Irish Pub, where $3 pints of Irish beer flowed. It seemed everyone we met was out for the event. It also started to feel like we knew everyone in the Wedge -- we met friends crossing the street, saw exes and old acquaintances drinking outside bars, and ran into other friends working behind counters. Groups of people spun a wheel outside the Women's Coffee Connection to got deals on coffees and fruit smoothies. Shops like Thread and Hedonist Artisan Chocolates were swamped; you could barely get in the door. One woman had all the places she wanted to hit written on a note card in her pocket. Another was frustrated when we ran out of the coveted red-and-white buttons.

But we were only on the clock for an hour, and then we could take advantage of the deals ourselves. I zipped up my black hoodie, and went incognito into the crowd. We went back to Caverly's to have a round of drinks before heading to Lux, the stand-by watering hole we usually find ourselves at for Tuesday happy hours. Cans of $1 PBRs were cracked, one after the other, and a few of us sat in the backyard for a while, enjoying the nice weather.

Then we walked over to the Downstairs of the German House, where 40 Rod Lightning was onstage. That band is great, so energetic, and I love the newish song "Some Kind of Strange." My only gripe was the bright lights in the venue. If you're used to dimly lit bars and mood lighting, it can be startling to have the place washed in light, even if it was only 9 p.m. or so. When you've been on the streets stretching your dollars for several hours, you need a quiet, dark place to kick back and relax. We decided to leave and find it.