Bandit X: Ten Years of the Bridge Run Show
Charleston writer and Blue Bike Books owner Jonathan Sanchez’s Tenth Annual Bridge Run Show will be Thursday, April 3rd, at the store, 420 King St., 7:30 – 10 pm (reading at 8 pm). Every year since 1999, Sanchez has performed a new short story involving the Cooper River Bridge Run.
In commemoration of this turnover on the odometer, the Tenth Annual will be an outdoor extravaganza with wine, food, and firm, encouraging handshakes from the author. He’ll also sign copies of Bandit, a collection of Bridge Run stories from past years.
Ten Things To Know about Ten Years of the Bridge Run Show:
1. The first (1999) was in the living room of 164 Broad Street. Before settling at Blue Bike Books, it journeyed to Café Lana on Cumberland St., Magar Hatworks, Five Loaves Café, and Millennium Music.
2. When the series started there were only 49 stars on the American flag. (On a related note: Congratulations Hawaii! Welcome to the gang!)
3. The reading usually takes about 45 minutes, with a fifteen-minute break in the middle.
4. The show is not boring.
5. While audience members usually remain quiet, in honor of the occasion, calling out “Double Digits Baby!” will be allowed.
6. The tank top worn by Jonathan Sanchez at the 2004 shows is now in the Smithsonian, between Fonzie’s jacket and Mr. Belvedere’s apron.
7. This is the second-oldest CRBR peripheral event. The Blind Tiger’s ‘I Slept Through the Bridge Run’ party on Friday night always manages to stay one year ahead.
8. Typical Sanchez family après-race includes Johnsonville bratwursts and near-beer.
9. Nine stories from years past are compiled in Sanchez’s book Bandit. No other Charleston cultural event, not Spoleto, SEWE or the Bark in the Park has spawned a work of fiction.
10. No one at the ’03 show will ever forget the streaker!
