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Life's a beach

By Beth Potter
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 22nd, 2007 issue

What’s a little cold weather when there’s beach-party fun to be had?

It was just a minor inconvenience if you were at the Prague Bohemians cricket club Friday night, Aug. 17, trying to hold a bikini contest on the Žluté lázně “beach.” Organizer Scott Page had to scrap the night’s “beach babe” entertainment because none of the females he talked to wanted to strip down to their swimsuits under clear but chilly early evening skies.
What’s a surfer wannabe in Prague 4 to do?
Actually, it’s more a case of what not to do when you have bands, dancing, food, drink and meters and meters of imported white sand and volleyball courts along the banks of the Vltava. The setting was perfect for swimming in the river, playing in the sand and drinking pina coladas. But the weather refused to cooperate.
Imported UK bands like The Narcoleptics, Testosterone and the Q Tones kicked things off before the sun went down. There was a distinct ’80s flavor to the music, which was mostly original and tended toward pop-ska.
Even though they didn’t look it, the kids in those bands were all over 18, according to promoter Rob Duffy. They had their expenses paid to come here, but played for free to help the Prague Bohemians and the Vinohrady cricket clubs raise money to teach Czech children how to play the British sport.
So far this summer, 450 kids have been to “cricket camp” in Prague (they pay a nominal fee), and organizers have one more to go, Page said. Gate fees from last week’s party will pay for new equipment and promotional activities.
If you know anything about cricket, which is played with a rock-hard ball, big, wooden bats and some pretty heavy-duty padding for the batter, you’re probably concerned about those poor kids getting cracked on their little noggins and going to the hospital. Not to worry, Page says. Kids’ cricket, officially known as Kwik Cricket, has different rules and is played with plastic equipment. There’s even a fledgling Czech girls team.
More than 600 partygoers showed up for the fundraiser Friday night, though Page isn’t sure how many came in total, because his crew ran out of wristbands. The crowd was generally well-behaved, if a little loopy. (Don’t ask us about the guys we saw trying to climb the walls of the outdoor bathrooms.)
Even the Aussies we met after midnight were relatively calm. They seemed to be interested in Caroline, who was sporting a stylish, retro leather jacket, but not Mark, who had on a suit coat. Nenad and Biljana and the rest of a late-arriving crew were smart enough to stay where they were, a couple of tables over.
Mik, Misa, Hugo, Roy, Hassan, Lawrence, Kumar and Craig from Prague Bohemians and Vinohrady all pitched in to keep things going smoothly, as did Martin.
Our friends Doug, Jim and Yon left before things really started hopping, Yon purportedly to catch a bachelor party. Hundreds of others in the crowd didn’t leave until some time after 4:30 a.m.
Saturday night was the same drill with a younger crowd, following the Czech Floorball Championships (a summer version of ice hockey).
The season’s getting mighty weird when you go to two weekend events that scream “summer” (Sunday, we hung out poolside all afternoon for a birthday flip-flop party) and the weather is more like fall. We know folks who wore shorts Friday night and regretted it.
But none of this has stopped Page and his friends. Last year, they held their first annual beach party at the Czech yacht club, which at a capacity of 350 people turned out to be too small. With this year’s success, he’s going to make it an annual event.
Just don’t break out the Speedos just yet.

Beth Potter can be reached at bpotter@praguepost.com


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