Beer Garden Pops Up at South Philly Diner to Raise Money for Anti-Pence Protest

Sam’s Morning Glory, the much-loved 20-year-old diner in Bella Vista known for its fantastic brunch, is hosting a one-night-only pop-up beer garden on Thursday, July 19, to raise money for a Refuse Fascism Philly protest against Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence returns to Philly July 23 for a fundraiser for Lou Barletta, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. The Philly chapter of the national Refuse Fascism group plans to protest the VP’s visit with a “Handmaids Brigade” of 100 women. The idea, says Mark Tinkleman, an organizer with Refuse Fascism, is the women dress as characters in the Margaret Atwood book/Hulu TV series The Handmaid’s Tale to represent “Pence’s end game of women totally stripped of their rights and humanity.”

“This protest will demand that the fascist Trump/Pence Regime Must Go!” Tinkleman writes in an email.

Similar demonstrations have taken place in Texas and Colorado.

To source funds, Refuse Fascism Philly is working with Carol Mickey, owner of Morning Glory, to set up the July 19 beer garden in the diner’s outdoor courtyard. This is far from the first time Mickey has gotten political (since not wanting children to be shot by assault rifles is considered a political issue).

The pop-up beer garden, at 10th and Fitzwater streets, runs from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with beer, punch, and food for sale and proceeds going toward the protest.