National Dive Bar Day

National Dive Bar Day is celebrated annually on July 7th. On this national day, a campaign of friends gathers and the old days at the dive bar are reminisced. It is believed that the prefix “dive” in the name appeared due to the fact that visiting drinking establishments was associated with diving. Along with this, not every small bar is a dive bar, while the dive bars themselves have a very long history.

The History

National Dive Bar Day was launched in 2018 by Seagram’s 7 Crown, which donated $25,000 to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. July 7 is also not chosen by chance – the date correlates well with the 7 & 7 cocktail sold from Seagram’s 7 Crown and 7 Up, because the date has two sevens in the number and in the month.

Along with this, dive bars in the past were considered dirty establishments exclusively for the not very well-to-do working class. Urban Dictionary defines a dive bar as a rundown, unglamorous bar that serves cheap, simple drinks to regular customers. Visitors to such establishments are called divers, because due to the excessively frequent diving into dive bars, they seem to exist under society.

A typical dive bar has a pool table, jukebox, but no food menu. These establishments were often featured in film noirs and pulp novels, making them a cult mainstream in the 1980s.

Interesting facts

On the occasion of the national day, let us recall the following facts:

• in July 1871, the exact definition of the word “dive” appeared for the first time, which, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means not only immersion in water, but also visiting a drinking establishment;
• from 1920 to 1933 in the USA a ban on illegal bars is introduced, the production, sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages is prohibited;
• in the 1980s, dive bars go mainstream thanks to movies like Blue Velvet and Barfly.

How to celebrate

In honor of the national day, you can visit one of the real dive bars with friends, where you can order a traditional 7&7 drink. During the visit, you can enjoy the music of the institution, talk with several regular customers, the bartender, who will surely tell some colorful stories.

When is National Dive Bar Day celebrated in 2022?

National Dive Bar Day is observed on July 7 each year.

Observations