ALBANY PARK — Here's a drinking game we never saw coming: painting along with the late PBS host and posthumous YouTube sensation Bob Ross.
Nighthawk Coffee Bar & Tavern, 4744 N. Kimball Ave., has introduced a new bi-weekly event, "The Joy of Drinking: Bob Ross Night," which makes its second outing Wednesday evening.
Two random bar patrons will be chosen to paint along with an episode of "The Joy of Painting," which aired from 1983 to 1994.
There will be other games and festivities to entertain customers while they literally watch paint dry.
If you happen to be selected as one of the evening's amateur artists, players from the first week set the bar pretty high:
[Facebook/Nighthawk Chicago]
Ross died in 1995 at age 52 from lymphoma but, as the New York Times has noted, "his cultural legacy has grown in his absence," with fans attracted to him for his soothing demeanor as his painting ability. Some of his episodes on YouTube have attracted more than 1 million views.
Similar bar events are held elsewhere in the country.