greasy pole

On Saturday, Sue and I went to St. Peter's fiesta in Gloucester. We may never have known about it, if it wasn't for our friend Monica. Apparently, Gloucester has a very tight-knit Italian community, with a lot of fishermen in their midst. St. Peter is the fisherman saint, so it only makes sense that they celebrate the dude.

By the time we showed up, the Greasy Pole run has been going on for a couple of hours. I kid you not, the event consists of a telephone pole greased up and suspended above water, with a series of townies trying to run across it and grab the flag at the end. People in the boats get the best view of the action, especially during high tide, when the audience can't get very close:

Nobody managed to grab the flag, so our friends gave up and went to grab some food - when it finally happened. Some guy tiptoed his way sideways and got the end before falling. According to Monica, the winner becomes a local hero. The rest of the participants are rewarded with bumps and bruises from falling on the pole in the most awkward of ways, and we rewarded ourselves with some nice seafood from a nearby restaurant. Gotta love tradition.