This weekend saw approximately 10,378 Basel-related events. And despite the attraction of porn-as-art; an erotic candy-themed carnival ride and pop-ups galore - one of the most talked about attractions was an old school Florida tradition: the gator show.
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Gramps, Wynwood's brand-spanking-new, cleverly monikered music venue slash bar brought out the big guns for their soft opening, and the Baselites were all abuzz.
"I guess that was one thing that's just sort of very uniquely ours in a lot of ways. I think everybody who grew up down here probably went to Miccosukee or did an Everglades airboat ride; everyone at some point has seen an alligator show, and it's a culturally important to share that with all the people who were from out of town," said owner Adam Gersten. "Plus it's just kind of weird and fun."
The team brought in the folks from Everglades Outpost Wildlife Refuge And Rescue, who arrived on site with three gators stashed away in their van. The crew set up a wooden box, put a tarp over it, filled it with sand and water - and in went a gator. Adam described the show as an informational session and show with a hint of crowd-pleasing danger.
A giant sidewalk sign proclaimed "GATOR", and passers-by came in off the street to see the reptile action, many Tweeting away.
"@Katya_Segovia How the hell did we end up at n alliagtor wrestling match in #wynwood? @grampsbar @Karenposada music is good! pic.twitter.com/bKS65coB"
While Adam can't promise any future repeats of Saturday's gator show, they do plan on hosting lots of booze-infused cultural events, like informal lectures on topics relevant to the region.
"We'll definitely be having people come in and use our space on the interior of our building to talk about different things, related to Florida history, in a bar setting; kind of casual informational types of things. It's kind of mixing a cultural center with beer drinking and alcohol, so maybe their attention spans will be a little shorter, but it's just a neat forum."
That's in addition to their full lineup of live music and DJs, natch.
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