MRE PRESS RELEASE

Oct. 16, 2001

Contact:
Elvia Thompson, Deputy Minister of Propaganda
Maritime Republic of Eastport
410 990-9025
elvia@stellarpresentations.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TEAMS SHAPING UP FOR 4TH ANNUAL
EASTPORT/ANNAPOLIS TUG-Of-WAR
Two Pep Rallies Planned

The Annapolis vs. Eastport friendly rivalry continues as thousands are expected to view the fourth annual Maritime Republic of Eastport (MRE) International Tug-Of-War on Saturday, Nov. 3. Rival teams in Eastport and Annapolis will pull a custom woven 1,700-foot-long rope across Annapolis Harbor.

The family-friendly, fun event provides the winning teams with civic pride and bragging rights and is a fund-raising event for local charities. Last year over $18,000 was raised by corporate sponsorship of teams, advertising sales, and pledges of individual tuggers. Since the first Tug across Annapolis Harbor in 1998 (which, since last year's victory, is now known as Gulf of Eastport), the tongue-in-cheek breakaway republic of MRE has raised and distributed nearly $50,000, all to non-profit groups within the community.

As many as sixteen teams of 25 to 35 tuggers on each side of the special rope stretched between Annapolis City Dock and the end of Second Street on the Eastport Peninsula will give it all they've got in this annual tradition.

Each of the nearly 600 tuggers needs to secure pledges of $50-$100 to add to the amounts pledged by their sponsoring organizations. Organizers hope to raise as much as $20,000, all of which will be distributed among local non-profit groups as well as to families of victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on America.

The Individual Tugs

Each winning team will have the right to designate which non-profits receive 60 percent of the net proceeds from each tug. The competition will start in grand Eastport tradition at the "crack o' noon." That's when the first of eight grueling pulls will pit the patrons and friends of the bars in Eastport against the bars on the Annapolis side. Sponsored by Buck Distributing (the local Miller distributor), this is the "Tastes Great, Less Filling" Tug. Word has it that especially heavy recruiting is going on for this one at neighborhood watering holes.

Tug Number Two is the classic, "Tug of the Clubs," pitting coed teams from the venerable Annapolis Yacht Club against the "upstart" fun-loving Eastport Yacht Club. The winning team gets to fly its yacht club burgee over the losing team's clubhouse Ö true humiliation for the loser. EYC is especially geared up for this one, having suffered a surprise loss to AYC last year.

In Tug Number Three, the "Taste of the Town Tug," the Chart House Restaurant's team, representing Eastport, will pull against a team fielded by Annapolis' West Street Restauranteurs, led by Sean Donlon's.

Tug Number Four will see employees and friends of Annapolis Bank & Trust for Annapolis vs. Sandy Spring Bank for Eastport in the "Buck Stops Here" Tug.

Tug Number Five will see our men and women in blue on the rope. The Annapolis Police Department will battle the Annapolis Fire Department in the "Guns and Hoses Tug." We're also calling this the "Heroes Tug."

Tug Number Six will probably be the fiercest competition of the whole slate as the women's team from the Annapolis Junior League battles it out with the women from the MRE in the Battle of the Fairer Sex IV--this year dubbed the "The Flip Flops vs. The Heels". The MRE women's team lost the first two years against the Annapolis women, but won last year's tug in a triumphant come-uppance.

Tug Number Seven will see the Annapolis Men's Team vs. the MRE Men's Team--the "Testosterone Tug IV."

The final Tug will pit the employees and friends of Eastport's newest eatery, the Boatyard Bar & Grill, teamed up with the long-time Eastport watering hole, Davis' Pub, against an as-yet-unannounced Annapolis-side rival. This is the "New Kid on the Block Tug" and will serve as Boatyard's right of passage into the bar family on both sides of the Gulf of Eastport.

While there will be safety lines away from the harbor's edge preventing tuggers from being pulled into the water, a "designated dunkee" from each losing team will leap into the harbor at the completion of each tug. The tugs are so physically grueling, each generally lasts well under ten minutes.

To get everyone into the proper mood, Pep Rallies will be held as follows:

October 26 at the Boatyard Bar & Grill at 7 p.m. The rope will be unveiled and a safety check on it conducted at that time.

November 2 at the Chart House Restaurant at 7 p.m.

The Tug organizing committee has selected 10 local charities as the recipients of this year's Tug proceeds. However, given the recent terrorist attack on America, MRE citizens voted to add assistance to the families of victims as an 11th charity. The exact organization to receive the funds and the proportional amount will be determined closer to the event itself.

The Tug of War, now in its fourth year, draws on the rivalry between Eastport, the maritime neighborhood across Spa Creek from downtown Annapolis, and the city itself, with civic pride on both sides of the creek making this zany event more than a community fun day. The family-friendly event draws considerable media attention, including CNN in past years.

The Coast Guard closes the Gulf of Eastport (Annapolis Harbor) for several hours while the teams on either side of the water tug away during the scheduled "heats." This is the ONLY event for which the Coast Guard has EVER consented to close the busy harbor.

Downtown Annapolis and Eastport are transformed, with a festival-like atmosphere that includes food vendors, face-painting, clowns, cheering crowds, and all sorts of local color. Teams consisting of all men, all women, and coed have traditionally been the anchor teams for the tugs, earning the Maritime Republic of Eastport bragging rights for the first three years over its "citified" cousins across the Spa Creek.

MRE sponsors the event as part of its commitment to make the entire community a better place to live. With the financial backing of other private groups and businesses, the Tug is an outstanding example of how to supplement local, state and federal government activities.

For more information see the official MRE website at www.TheMRE.org end

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