I haven't thought this out at all so bear with me. See, I read about this event in the UK called "Beer in the Boat Shed" and thought that it was actually about having a beer in a shed. Turns out that "shed" means different things in different contexts:

Over 1,000 people turned up to this weekend’s first ever Caister Lifeboat beer festival. The Beer in the Boat Shed event featured more than 30 real ales from some of Norfolk’s finest brewers and entertained crowds of hundreds which live music performances at every session. Paul Garrod, chairman of the lifeboat, said: “It’s been a really fantastic event and we are over the moon. We had music all the weekend and the crowds stayed throughout.” The family friendly event ran from Friday, June 24 through to today at the lifeboat station. As well as real ales available there were three traditional ciders also on offer, as well as a lager, wines and soft drinks. The Scratch Band performed on Saturday night with other performances from It Takes Two, Left IV Dead, Annie’s Jazz Friends and The Old Codgers.

That sounds like a lot of fun in a very good cause. In a very big shed. The "Beer in the Shed 2011" event I am declaring isn't really like that. Not at all. See, four years ago, I had some family over started BBQing and the rain came up chasing my brother and I into our shed along with a stash of bieres de garde and saisons. That's one of the few photos I took that day up there. But it has been one of my favorite moments in my life with beer as my shed barely fit the two chairs, I hadn't had a chance to have a good chat with my brother for a while and, well, the beer was good.

Remembering that day got me thinking. Thinking about you and your sheds. So, here is what I have come up with - if you have a shed or know someone with one how about making it a venue for some beery this weekend. Can you fit a keg and a band in your shed? Or can you watch fireflies through the shed door late as night as you have one more imperial stout? Also, must a festival be bound by one geographical location? Or can we prove that a festival can be framed by that smalled building, the shed. I say we can. And we can make it about the shed as national institution, too. Canada celebrates our slightly sadly named Canada Day this Friday July 1st and the US has its Independence Day on Monday the 4th. Similar holidays will be going on in Belarus, Burundi and the British Virgin Islands, too. There are more reasons to get into the shed in other countries as well. Pick one and make it your own.

Not a lot of rules except there has to be beer, a shed and a festival this weekend. Post or send me an email to beerblog@gmail.com about your summer holiday weekend beer and shed event along with some photos. The best entry will get the supreme prize of a tie, as questionably illustrated, which was sent by the good folks at Narragansett beer a while back that I was saving for the Christmas photo contest. Go. Be festive. In your shed.