A dark green, 12-foot-tall Hulk stood over customers of Blackadder Brewing Company on Thursday as they snapped pictures and answered superhero trivia.
Superheroes For Hope donated the massive hero to the local pub, located at 618 NW 60th St., for a fundraiser at 4 p.m. The Hulk statue will remain at the pub through October. The $500 raised at the event will go to Superheroes For Hope, which provides emotional and financial support for families of children with terminal illnesses, said Sissy Hart, a co-owner of the brewery.
“Something about a child with an illness just pulls at the heartstrings,” she said. “Superheroes For Hope isn’t trying to find a cure for cancer, they are simply trying to put a smile on a child’s face.”
The charity gives gas cards to families who need help getting to hospitals, as well as grocery gift cards.
Customers 21 years and older could donate $10 for a wristband that gave them entry, a dollar off each beer and a spot in the superhero trivia game. All proceeds from the wristband sales went to Superheroes For Hope, Hart said.
Participants in trivia were in groups of five to eight people and were asked questions about heroes from DC Comics and Marvel Comics. The first-place prize was a mini-photoshoot with the Hulk statue, the second-place prize was beer shots for the entire team, and the third-place team won a $12 gift card to the brewery.
The brewery has hosted similar fundraisers in the past exclusively for local charities, including Girls Place, Inc., a group to empower young girls in business; Gainesville Goes Gold, which raises awareness for pediatric health; Second Chance Rescue & Rehoming, a pet rescue; and the Lubee Bat Conservancy.
“A smaller donation is just going to get lost in the sea of everything that (the American Red Cross does),” said Chris Hart, a co-owner of the brewery and Sissy Hart’s husband. “But with a local thing, every dollar counts, and it’s important and you know it’s getting used somewhere close to home, so we’re really helping people that are around us.”
