By popular demand, MainStreet and the Batavia Chamber of Commerce are bringing back the downtown Poker Pub Crawl Saturday.

"It was such a hit last year," said MainStreet Executive Director Britta McKenna.

The 2004 Poker Pub Crawl was featured as part of last year's annual Bat Fest in October, and drew more than 100 participants.

What is a Poker Pub Crawl?

Put simply, it's a game of Five-Card Draw that spans five downtown restaurants and five hours. Players can draw one card at each pub, but they have to hit all five to make a complete hand. At the end of the night, players show their hands, and the best ones are awarded prizes.

It costs $5 to play, and players can draw additional cards to improve their hands for $1 each. All proceeds go to Batavia MainStreet.

McKenna says that the event, while being a decent fundraiser, also draws people to parts of downtown Batavia that they may not have visited otherwise.

"People said to me last year, 'I've never been to this restaurant,'" she explained. "It leads people to the downtown area."

Participating restaurants this year include the East China Inn at 140 W. Wilson St.; the Fox Grill at 35 N. Water St.; One East Wilson at 1 E. Wilson St.; O'Brien's at 12 N. River St.; and the Venice Tavern at 31 N. River St.

Play begins at 7 p.m., and players may start at any of the five restaurants.

Players will show their hands at 11:45 p.m. at the Fox Grill.

Anyone is welcome, but you must be 21 years old to participate.

McKenna says that Batavia MainStreet strives to provide interesting activities for all ages, and the Poker Pub Crawl is the latest example of that.

"We like to provide opportunities for different age groups," she said. "This is something for people in their 20s and 30s who want something to do with a group of friends, sort of our entree into young adult activities."