Remembrance Day

[vid]

They offer a lot of services that are just for military personnel and veterans, but the bar itself is public. They also rent the space for various functions on a regular basis. I know people who have had shags or wedding receptions in legion halls.

Go to any really small town and typically the legion is the most active building there. If it has one. A lot have closed in recent years.

[Taller, Better]

Originally Posted by vid

I know people who have had shags in legion halls.

.

Are you serious? Sounds like the Legion is a hotter place than I had expected!

[kwoldtimer]

Indeed, one awaits more details! With Vid, anything seems possible!

[vid]

Shower/Stag. It's a TBay Thing.

We were too poor to have a separate bridal shower and stag party for the groom so we combine them, and it's pretty big business here. It's expanded to the point that virtually any get-together is called a shag whether it is wedding related or not. When Austin Powers came out, a lot of us found it slightly confusing, because before then the word shag wasn't associated with sex.

[Taller, Better]

In Manitoba we called them "Socials". You rent a hall, make dozens of paper plates full of sliced kielbasa, pickles and Cheddar cheese with plastic bowls filled with potato chips; and buy a crapload of booze. You get a licenced "permit" to sell the booze at a huge profit for the night, and voila! Bob's yer uncle; a grand or so for the engaged couple and an evening of fun in towns with few, if any, bars. In rural towns everyone planned their Saturday nights around whoever's "Social" was on that week. Win-win situation. Occasionally they ended in huge drunken brawls, and the future bride in tears.

[isaidso]

Kielbasa? That sounds such a mid-West/Manitoba thing to do! Do they serve squares too? Perhaps some bars.

Originally Posted by vid

They offer a lot of services that are just for military personnel and veterans, but the bar itself is public. They also rent the space for various functions on a regular basis. I know people who have had shags or wedding receptions in legion halls.

Go to any really small town and typically the legion is the most active building there. If it has one. A lot have closed in recent years.

I imagine they are far more popular in small towns. I don't know anyone that's ever been to a legion. I've never been inside one. When I was in the army we always just went to the mess on base. I suppose Taller has.

[vid]

Koobasaw.

[icemachine]

We always called them Stag & Does, but yeah, Legion Halls and Community Centres would often be booked for them, or wedding receptions with the dances after dinner open to everyone in town with a cash bar.

[Taller, Better]

Originally Posted by vid

Koobasaw.

hehe.... yup, that brought back memories. I guess Thunder Bay and Winnipeg share some cultural cues.

[rbt]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

Are you serious? Sounds like the Legion is a hotter place than I had expected!

In a small town, a legion's hall is often the only indoor option for a large gathering that isn't a barn or arena; and the legion typically has a kitchen and/or staff who can do catering (basic meat & potato & veg for $10/head; includes table settings/linen).

[Taller, Better]

Yeah, I agree. I was just making a joke about the "shagging"! I figured maybe Austin Powers must be a Legion member.

Where I came from, stags were never money raising events; they were just a group of guys taking out the bridegroom before the wedding day to get him drunk and into trouble. I don't remember does for girls back in the day; I'm sure they do it now, though.

[vid]

Originally Posted by Taller, Better

hehe.... yup, that brought back memories. I guess Thunder Bay and Winnipeg share some cultural cues.

Ukrainians and Poles. My neighbourhood is full of them. Always has been. Very similar to Winnipeg's north end.

[Marbur66]

Originally Posted by vid

Koobasaw.

That cooked crap they sell at the grocery store is an embarrassment to sausage everywhere. My friend offered me some once, and he was shocked when I turned it down since I am half Polish. I told him that kielbasa is a generic name meaning "sausage," and that once you have real, smoked sausage (one of a million tastes and sizes) from a Polish deli, you can never put that cooked shit in your mouth again.

[vid]

I don't buy any lunch meat, cheese, sausage, smoked meat or chocolate from grocery stores anymore. I live near a Polish Deli (run by actual Poles, first-generation) and everything they make is not only much better tasting and easier on my stomach than the stuff in the stores, but it's less expensive too.

The million sizes thing is really accurate too. No two sausages are the same length or shape. I also live above a meat processor that has a small deli selection but mostly does game meat. I'm quite spoiled when it comes to lunch meat and beef jerky in this neighbourhood.

[Taller, Better]

Nothing can compare to sauntering down Roncesvalles on a sunny afternoon and checking out the wonderful Polish delis along the way. It is true; once you get used to the real thing it is hard to go back to crappy sausages.