Bathrobes, bowling shirts, and White Russians will fill the streets of downtown Owensboro on March 6 as local businesses team up for “The Day of the Dude,” a Big Lebowski-inspired bar crawl that will wrap up with an afterparty at Southern Lanes Bowling Alley.
The event will run from 5-9 p.m., with participating restaurants each serving a custom spin on the classic White Russian. An official afterparty will follow at Southern Lanes.
Bill Brown, owner of The Pub on Second and organizer of the event, said the idea grew out of a smaller in-house celebration last year.
“After doing the event in-house last year, its success reaffirmed my decision to open it up to Downtown Owensboro and make it an annual event for us and our neighbors,” Brown said.
Participants are encouraged to dress as their favorite characters from “The Big Lebowski,” with M Squared Marketing photographers roaming downtown to capture standout costumes for social media.
Derek Stone, president of Downtown Owensboro Inc. and affiliated with Mellow Mushroom, said the event highlights the collaborative spirit of downtown businesses.
“We are always searching for new ways to bring Owensboro together, and we have seen similar concepts be quite popular in our area,” Stone said. “Our downtown businesses love coming together to provide fun events. ‘The Day of the Dude’ was another opportunity for us to work together and have some fun in our neighborhood.”
Stone said he is especially eager to see the creativity behind the specialty drinks.
“Personally, I look the most forward to seeing the unique drink creations and witty names our local participating businesses will come up with,” he said.
Participating locations and their featured cocktails include:
- Brasher’s Lil Nashville — Caucasian Classic: Vodka and coffee cream liqueur.
- Brew Bridge — The Brew Russian: Vodka, Kahlúa, and heavy cream.
- Big Whiskey’s — Matty’s White Russian: Tito’s, Kahlúa, and a fresh-made Belgian waffle.
- Mellow Mushroom — El Tipo: Vanilla vodka, coffee, and espresso liqueur with cream, topped with cayenne cinnamon sugar and chocolate shavings.
- Don Mario’s — The Horchata Russian: Tito’s, Kahlúa, and Mexican horchata.
- SIP Owensboro — The Abiding Russian: Vodka, Kahlúa, and cream.
- The Pub on Second — Mark it zero, Donny: Screwball peanut butter whiskey, Mister Black coffee liqueur, and half-and-half.
- Lure — White Russian Snow Cone: Vodka, Kahlúa, and cream.
- Famous Bistro — Classic White Russian: Vodka, Kahlúa, and cream.
- Fetta — You See What Happens, Larry: Vodka, Kahlúa, chocolate liqueur, and a chocolate sauce drizzle.
Organizers describe the evening as a chance to visit multiple downtown spots, sample creative cocktails, and lean into the film’s laid-back, offbeat spirit before heading to the bowling lanes to close out the night.
