Celebrations begin even before race

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By Dustin Lemmon | Saturday, July 26, 2008 7:46 PM CDT | () comments

More than an hour before hundreds of runners came through, Sonda Reinartz and friends were setting up a party at Jersey Ridge and Middle roads, but their host was missing.

Reinartz said Jim Allen lets the group of friends party in his driveway while he’s away. Last year he was out of town, and this year he was working.

“He’s the host of the party, and he’s never been here,” she said with a laugh.

The group set up a grill to cook breakfast, eggs and sausage, and put out chairs for about 20 guests. Reinartz said they had bacon last year, but runners complained as they passed by and smelled it cooking.

“They were yelling at us that it was cruel to have bacon,” she said.

A few blocks away, people opened bags of ice for Mike Castel’s annual Quad-City Times Bix 7 party in the 1900 block of Kirkwood Boulevard. Several tables were set up for food and drinks, and classic rock music played through two speakers on the lawn.

Castel has hosted spectators in his yard since the 1970s. In the 1980s, he started using a stereo to play music for the runners, and in the 1990s the party expanded. In 1994, guests dressed up for a ’70s party, and the parties grew in size from there, Castel said.

“It’s always evolving into something different,” Castel said while streamers flew in a tree overhead.

This week’s storm damage prevented some people from making it, Castel said, but he was expecting about 100 visitors. He looks forward to the event each year.

“It’s a combination of the people at the party, the people running by the party, the music and the Mexican food,” he said.

Ed and Pat Berger hosted guests in their yard near Bridge Avenue and Kirkwood Boulevard. Ed Berger’s parents owned the home previously, so they’ve always been present for the race, Pat Berger said.

The past two years, the Bergers have hosted musicians in their yard. For Ed Berger, his greatest joy is spraying water on the runners as they pass, be it during the race or during the Bix at Six on Thursdays.

“For me, it’s just spraying them,” he said with a smile. “I really enjoy it.”

Joe Kint was mixing drinks for his guests near Grand Avenue and Kirkwood Boulevard. He and his wife hosted the first party after moving there in 1981. The house also turned 100 that year.

“We had a party because we knew the Bix is quite an event,” he said. “We’re both runners.”

Kint also served food under a tent for his guests.

Several musicians representing various genres of music also set up on the race route. Some started playing before 8 a.m., with music echoing up and down the streets.

Tony Cavitt of Nashville and Greg Wilde of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, were playing their first Bix 7. They are a two-man acoustic group called Tennessee-Wilde and play a variety of music, including country and blues.

Wilde said the duo had a show the night before and only a few hours of sleep.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said of playing the Bix. “We did a gig last night and got to bed about 3 in the morning. You have to love it to do it.”