City wisely clarifies alcohol rules for Moon Tunes

Have you been to Moon Tunes yet? The weekly La Crosse concerts in Riverside park have turned out to be a big hit. Local musicians, performing along the shore of the Mississippi on a beautiful summer night, provide free music each Thursday night. Based on the size of the crowds, it is a big success. At last week’s concert, there were people of all ages enjoying the musicianship, and a beautiful evening, many of them enjoying an adult beverage as they listened. But the rules for consuming alcohol in Riverside Park sure are confusing. People are free to bring their own beverages, which they do. I saw many cans of beer and even bottles of wine being enjoyed as the music played. The Pearl Street Brewery even set up a little area surrounded by plastic fencing, a makeshift beer garden. But according to city rules, people could buy the tasty suds there, but couldn’t take the beverage outside of the fenced in area. That’s despite the fact that those on the outside of the fencing, the other 1500 people, were free to enjoy their beverages anywhere in the park. Turns out the rules are different when you buy the beer there, rather than bring your own. But this story has a happy ending. The city actually listened to reason, and realized that perhaps their rules didn’t make all that much sense. So they have bent the rules a bit, and now people who buy beer from the brewery can take them outside the fenced in area, as long as they are not opened until after leaving the fenced in perimeter. Glad to see, without too much convincing, the city got this one right.