The Holidays are finally here and everyone needs a calendar for 2011. So why not get one while picking up some of your favorite New England beer. From now until after the Holidays, you'll receive a Hi-Neighbor Calendar when you grab a case of 'Gansett in the package stores. Visit your local retailer for details. Our first ever calendar features the lovely 'Gansett Girls all dolled up in their pin-up goodness. Thanks to the fabulous crew at Providence Pinup for all their help with the photos and styling. But you better act fast since these are only available for a limited time and will be gone by January. To get you excited even more, here is the history of the 'Gansett Girls and our inspiration behind the calendar's creation.
Hi Neighbor! You might be thinking to yourself that the 2011 Hi Neighbor Calendar is just another one of those beer company stunts featuring babes in bikinis. Well, you’re about as wrong as people who think New York is part of New England. The ’Gansett Girls go back a long way with Narragansett, to about the time your Grandpop was picking up six packs of tallboys on his way home from work.
Back in the early ’50s, ’Gansett was the #1 beer in all of New England, hemlines were lower and necklines were higher and the ’Gansett Girls weren’t just pretty faces printed in beer ads, they were legitimate brand ambassadors for the beer. Every year throughout the ’50s and ’60s, ’Gansett would hold a Miss Hi Neighbor pageant to crown the next class of ’Gansett Girls. The ladies would travel around New England stopping in at local bars, riding in small town parades and awarding bowling league trophies and prizes at the famous annual Hi Neighbor Bass/Blue Fishing Tournament. There were certainly some memorable New England women amongst the ’Gansett Girl ranks like Penny Sojka of Turners Falls, Betty Vickowski of Greenfield and the incomparable Irene Hennessey.
Today, we’re carrying on the ’Gansett Girl tradition by hiring women from around New England to sample our products and promote New England’s own award-winning beer brand at festivals, store tastings and sporting events. The ladies on these pages aren’t models we picked out to peddle ’Gansett. These standup women are local New Englanders that do a hell of a job representing our beer and our community. So keep an eye out for the ’Gansett Girls in your neighborhood, enjoy this calendar and have great 2011.