IF3. IF3. IF3. Boy, what a party. After leaving Montreal Sunday night (though for some, the party ended during the middle of the week), it was time for Tyler Hamlet and the gang to get into tour season. Sort of like duck hunting season but instead of killing animals, you’re packing venues, and camo hats are traded in for flat brims. Weapon of choice? Yeah Dude! To be shown in three select cities. Welcome my friends, to the Bula Poor Boyz East Coast Tour.
Tuesday night was the IMAX showing in Quebec City. On hand to sign all things autographs was the one and only local boy, JP Auclair! Hundreds of people were on hand to watch Tyler Hamlet’s solo directorial debut and Tyler was there to throw out high fives. The crowd roared during the showing on the large screen that is IMAX.
Wednesday was a day of travel for the crew. Thursday afternoon, the tour stopped into the Magic Hat Brewery in Burlington, VT. The great people of Magic Hat gave us an exclusive special tour of the brewery and how they make Magic Hat so magical. We learned there’s great deal of detail and hard work that goes into every bottle. It sure is easy going down though! After an hour of delicious samplings, we were onto the University of Vermont for the premiere. UVM has been undergoing some serious construction lately. The newly built Davis Center is surrounded by rails. Brand new, long, and full of kinks. (wink wink nudge nudge). Tonight, however, was a very special night for the Davis Center. Yeah Dude was the first film to ever show in the newly constructed ballroom on the fourth floor. The good folks at the UVM Ski and Snowboard Club played an excellent host. If you’re a UVM student, go sign up, these guys are one of the best clubs in the US and know how to have a good time.
As we arrived at the Davis Center, we noticed the line to get in was 50+ people deep. Folks were anxious to get their hands on the limited edition Bula Poor Boyz custom beanies. When the doors opened at 7:30, pandemonium ensued. The tables were lined with posters, magazines, stickers, and JP on hand to sign everything under the sun including a long board and a flip-flop. As the crowd piled in, we noticed we had a packed, full house in Burlington. The B-towners love skiing and they came out in full for Yeah Dude! When the lights dimmed, shows on. An estimated five hundred people cheered as JP and the rest of the film stars ripped it up during the film. Lights up, shwag toss. Gear from Bula, Froth, Obermeyer, and more were tossed deep into the larger crowd. After the shwag boxes had emptied, JF DuRocher from Bula surprised the crowd with one more item to give out, a limited edition Bula jacket! However, JF was not going to just hand this to anyone. He wanted to see the best handstand. Burlington dropped to the ground and threw their legs in the air! Winning the jacket was a UVM student that performed three (count ‘em) three handstand pushups. Winner!
We headed out of the Davis Center and walked to the Orlio After Party at Nectars. A local band from Oregon provided a chill atmosphere as ski club members, athletes, and industry folks hung out chatting and enjoying the tasty offerings from Orlio, a new subsidiary of Magic Hat. The band kicked it up a few levels and as the late night turned into the early hours of morning, the crowd at Nectars danced and partied till the bartender called for last round. Quebec City and Burlington had great turnouts. We were stoked. As we walked home that night, we discussed the final destination on our mini East Coast adventure. We had know idea what lie ahead for us in Boston…

…to be continued.

As always, these things don’t happen by themselves. Special Thanks to Susan Evans at Magic Hat, Matt Cole at UVMSSC, the staff at Nectars, and the entire UVM community for making our trip a blast.

For more on the UVM Ski and Snowboard Club visit: https://www.uvmssc.com/