I will add this last part…OK, maybe two or three last parts.

1) Everything is set for Saturday. Just show up and we’ll be cool.

2) I’m DJing at Dubai:Brooklyn on Sunday from 7AM-10AM. It’s in the events section. Look, look, LOOK!

3) I’m pretty sure that the after party is going to be at Hell Gate Social Club. It’s a great place that is host to many interesting events in Astoria.

4) I can’t sleep.

5) I’m posting the most personal piece I’ve ever done next week. Don’t make fun of it. This is like tightrope walking across the Twin Towers. It’s that personal but if I’m going to champion honest writing I might as well be the first to dive in and tell every one that the water is shallow and that they could break their necks if they go in head first. Hopefully you won’t break mine.

OK, so there was 5. Big deal. Thanks for reading, friends, family and foes. I know you’re out there reading. I saw the stats. Thanks for the support. This has been a very big month for The Whiskey Dregs. I leave for vacation to Puerto Rico in a few weeks and I will most certainly need it. One good look into my eyes and the bloodshot tributaries (yes, tributaries) will lead you to a flooded mind that is finding difficulty doing one of the things I love – writing. This better be worth it or I will kick myself in the ass for it later.

I swear…

Buenos noches caballeros y caballeras,

Carlos Detres

Friend to small animals

Hell Gate Social Club

Pita Hot

The Quays

Sai Organic

Sparrow

I feel fortunate to have seen Astoria grow in the 7 years that I’ve lived here and even more fortunate to have met so many people who are eager to be part of our renaissance. Artists, musicians, writers, business owners and residents are pulling together to make change happen – pushing it further.

I’m running out of steam here. The right words are becoming harder to put together to accurately convey what is happening. The Whiskey Dreg readings, art shows, open mics and now this festival and this is just one summer that isn’t close to being over yet. It isn’t difficult to imagine what the next few years will bring and what opportunities behold us.

The location of the after party is becoming more concrete but will be announced tomorrow. Think fun. Think nuts. Think isolated bedlams. Think, think, think and then throw it down with a beer.

Tomorrow night, several of us will be at LIC Bar celebrating the recent CBS acquisition of the Astoria-based television show called We Need Girlfriends. I’ve seen some of it and it’s funny. If you’re in the mood then you should come join us. It’ll be our last casual hang out (sorta casual) before the final front on Saturday but this is where it gets bigger. This is where those bright ideas go when the right people think them. And this is where I stop to get some sleep and cease all shitty writing for the night. You get the idea.

Oh yeah! I almost forgot…please be sure to pick up a program during the festival so you can get a good idea of who’s playing, who our sponsors are and the key players behind all of this.

Excitedly yours,

Carlos

P.S. I can’t wait to squirt you people with my water gun. Bring one and squirt back.