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EAST ALTON/WOOD RIVER - The Riverbend East Rotary will host their Pints 4 Polio bar crawl to continue their efforts to eradicate polio.
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From 5–10 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, community members can stop by five bars in East Alton and Wood River to enjoy food and drink specials while raising money for the Rotary International mission to eradicate polio worldwide. Participating venues include Don’s No Man Land, Joe’s Pizza and Pasta in East Alton, The Airliner Bar & Grill, The Franchise Sports Bar and Grill, and The Refinery Bar & Grill.
“This is going to be such a big event for us,” said Mark Smith, president of Riverbend East Rotary. “It’s our big polio push right now. Friday is actually World Polio Day.”
Tickets cost $30 and you can purchase tickets online or register at participating venues on Oct. 23. A ticket includes a souvenir pint glass, four beer tickets, and a punch card. If you stamp your punch card at all five venues, you will receive a Pints 4 Polio t-shirt. Additional souvenir pint glasses are available for $10 each.
All proceeds go back to the Rotary International’s work. Robin Karpan, Riverbend East Rotary’s International Chair, shared that polio is still a major concern. Most U.S. residents are vaccinated against polio, but people are still working to bring the vaccine to other countries around the world and continue vaccination efforts in the U.S.
Karpan shared that her father had polio, so the cause is important to her as she has seen the disease’s effects firsthand. She emphasized that polio cases can increase exponentially if the work to eradicate it does not continue.
“As a matter of fact, this year, we’ve had 13 wild polio cases,” she said. “It’s only in two countries, Afghanistan and Pakistan, for now. But it’s estimated if we stop our efforts for vaccination that within ten years, we’ll have 200,000 cases per year.”
The Pints 4 Polio event aims to bring awareness to the dangers of polio while raising money for Rotary International to continue their work. Karpan and Smith hope many people come out to support these efforts and enjoy the evening.
Smith thanked the local businesses that are supporting the event this year. The Pints 4 Polio bar crawl will boost these businesses while helping communities worldwide.
“They’re actually going out and supporting us and helping us provide this,” he said. “They were all excited and ready to get on board. They’re looking forward to the event as well.”
As an organization, Riverbend East Rotary aims to support local community members and business owners. They meet at 12 p.m. every Thursday at Julia’s Banquet Center in East Alton. Karpan and Smith encourage anyone who wants to know more about the organization to visit their official website or their official Facebook page.
For more information about Pints 4 Polio, including how to purchase tickets online, visit the official Facebook event page or click here.
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