Update: WE MADE THE TANK TRIBUNE!

The unofficially official Pico Day party of 2022!

Early this year we learned there wasn’t going to be an in-person Pico Day meetup. After 2 years of events canceled due to Covid, a bunch of us, on Discord, got talking about making a meetup happen.

We had no intention of doing it on Pico Day, instead opting to do it during the summer when more people would be free to make it.

The plan was for a smaller, more casual meetup, centered around a BBQ/Party at my house. Obviously I wasn’t about to have an open invite for all of Newgrounds, so the guest list was mostly centered around people from my private Discord server, and the Newgrounds Podcast/NGPR gang.

The official date of the party, Jun 11, 2022!

As we were making these plans, the Flash Forward Game Jam was also going on. Due to a few ambitious games, and some late participants, Tom ended up pushing the date back further and further. He also had a bunch of other real-world stuff going on around the time.  

Between not wanting Pico Day to outshine the game jam, and possibly not even being able to hang out and enjoy the day (not to mention it’s his damn birthday, give the man a day off!), the decision was made to push Pico Day back.

After mulling around a few potential days, Tom just decided to make it the same day as my party. Considering my house is the next closest thing to an official Newgrounds office, the party became the OFFICIAL Pico Day party (even though the guest list wasn’t gonna be any bigger)!

Day 1: The Calm Before...

I started prepping for the party on Wednesday, the 8th. Did some supply shopping, and smoked the beef brisket we served at the party.

Later that night, my good pal, @Onic, showed up with a cooler full of fresh meats, soaking in bags of brine. A few beers and laughs were had, then we went to bed at a responsible hour.

@Xinxinix, @Buhlboy and @TheDyingSun had flown to Kansas City that day as well, and crashed with @jacob for the night. They went out to a concert and did NOT go to bed at a responsible hour.

@Jack and @Poptaffy did the crazy thing and got on a 2-day train to Denver.

Day 2: The Gathering Storm

Thursday was mostly chill. Onic and I continued to hang out. We visited Red Rocks and walked up a lot of stairs, while the pork shoulder he brought was being smoked.  

Later we hit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, and were very upset to find that the whole Dinosaur section was closed. Like for real? That is the only reason people even GO to that museum!

Well, at least we saw some rocks, and this ancient Egyptian work of art:

Everyone else hit the road, or got on a plane at some point this day.

@Shal drove up with his fiancé, along with @DogL, AND their actual dog.

@heyopc, @droid & @maxxjamez all flew in to meet them at a group AirBNB

@Jacob and his gang got in mid-evening, checked in to their AirBNB, then met Onic, @MrsGoldfish, and myself for some drinks. @Bitbeak, who lives nearby, joined us shortly after.

We didn’t stay out too late, because Jacob had to pick up @Spadezer and @GoodL from the airport that night.

Day 3: Arcades n’ stuff

By Friday, pretty much everyone was in town.  

Onic and I started the day by hiking up Dinosaur Ridge, because we were gonna see SOME fucking fossils this week, even if it killed us!

That afternoon, we all met at Round One and wasted a lot of money on very unsatisfying Japanese arcade games. Drank a few beers, played some pool, and got hungry.

Then we descended like a swarm of locusts on a local pizza joint. The staff at Niccolo’s Pizza somehow handled all of those people, without any warning, like champs!

After dinner we split up, and a bunch of us went downtown. Half drove, half took the train, and it took WAY longer to find each other than it should have, but we DID IT!

We hit another restaurant for a round of drinks, then proceeded to the 1-UP, a popular downtown barcade. Some of the other group met us there, and more games were played.

At some point, Bitbeak went and picked up @littlbox from the airport.

Onic, MrsGoldfish and I left around midnight to catch a train home. For whatever reason, THREE of the trains were canceled, so we were stuck at Union Station for like an hour and a half.

At least we got to watch the crackheads in their natural habitat...

Also, we heard the gunshots that apparently killed someone that night, so that was fun.

https://kdvr.com/news/local/1-killed-in-early-morning-shooting-near-coors-field/

Needless to say, we did not go to bed at a reasonable hour....

Day 4: The MEAT up

Onic and I started the day by picking up the last supplies for the party.  

After that a bunch of us met at Tipsy’s Liquor World (the self-proclaimed, largest liquor store in the world) to get our libations for the BBQ.

When we got back, a few others were already hanging out at my place. Bitbeak was trying to figure out where to cook the bomb-ass jalepeno poppers he brought, so we got back just in time to help him out.

Also, @StaggerNight showed up at some point.

This party was like 9 different parties all in one.

We started with the initial “what are we doing here” awkward party.

Then we transitioned into the “holy shit it is hot out, let’s strip down to our underwear and get in the pool” party.

Then there was the “Look at all this food!” dinner party.

Then things took a weird turn, when the ice cream truck showed up. A dozen or so Newgrounders ran out to the truck, only to meet one of my neighbors, who was drunker than any of us. He started buying ice cream for EVERYONE at the party, dropping a lot of f-bombs in the process. It turns out his dad had just passed away, and he maybe hit the tequila a bit harder than he meant to.

Obviously, we invited him to the party, and he kinda fit right in.

This fed into the ‘content creation’ part of the party, where Maxx and Chris were filming footage for a bigfoot documentary (I vaguely remember standing in a tree for an interview), and a brand new community episode of A Couple of Crickets was recorded (I definitely remember singing Careless Whisper with littlbox).

Then came the "Children's Birthday Party", where we beat up an Among Us piñata that looked a little bit like me....

After that, the party split up a bit, with half the gang going in the house to play JackBox, and the rest making a short trip to Goodwill to pop some tags.

Since the back yard was empty, littlbox, Onic, MrsGoldfish, my neighbor and I did a quick cleanup. (You wouldn’t believe how many Newgrounders don’t know how to use a trash can!)

At some point everyone came back outside for the final “winding down, and making Alexa fart” party.

And then everyone went home with full bellies, and fond memories. And I had a ton of random alcohol left over.

Day 5: Kitty Dog

A bunch of people headed home early Saturday.

Others went for hikes.

TheDyingSun, Xinxinix, Spadezer, GoodL, littlbox, MrsGoldfish and myself went to Meow Wolf: Convergence Station.

This was the first time I had been there, and it was cool as hell. It’s like entering a handful of alien worlds, with a bunch of interactive exhibits, all created by this amazing artist collective.

That pretty much did it for me. I hung out with people at their AirBNB for a while before they went for a sunset hike. I said my goodbyes, went home, and almost passed out on the couch.

Had a great time... but I am getting too old for this shit!

Other Chronicles:

Check out this video from @heyopc