They called Christopher Gedraitis “Beast”. But by all accounts, he was a gentle beast. According to his friend Todd Burnside, “He was the kind of guy that always left an impression on you in some way or another, either with his charming smile, a corny joke or devilish prank, or his selfless acts of generosity and kindness. Beast was fiercely loyal to his friends, family, co-workers, and his neighborhood. Even if he just met you, he treated you just as he treated his lifelong friends. If you were a friend of a friend, that was good enough for him to go out of his way for you. I mean, I know of countless times he would help people do stuff that most people would run away from, like move furniture, fix toilets, work in crawlspaces, or break up concrete.”

Beast grew up in South Philadelphia. Throughout his life, he participated in a variety of sports. While at St. John Neumann High School, Beast played offensive lineman and tight end on the football team. He even made all-Catholic. In adulthood, Beast was highly respected for his participation with local youth sports programs, where he often volunteered his time coaching. He especially liked helping with youth hockey.

Gedraitis was a tall man. The Beast stood 6’4” and weighed in just over 200 pounds, but he was much stronger than his lanky build implied. He was well-loved in the nightclub industry. Beast worked at Liberties Bar and Restaurant in Northern Liberties and also at Echo’s in North Wildwood. “No matter how busy, you just never saw it get to him. He was always smiling,” said Burnside, “He was the kind of guy that we enjoyed working with, not only because he made our job easier through his hard work, but because he could always lighten the mood when we would start to get frazzled behind the bar.”

According to his parents, Beast had the “Gift of Life” and “a smile so big, it lit a room”. Sadly, in 2006, Beast passed away suddenly at the young age of 30, leaving behind so many friends and family to grieve his tragic loss. “Because of his magnetic personality, and his welcoming, generous nature, it crushed the hundreds, possibly thousands of people that counted Beast as a friend,” said Todd Burnside.

Beast was such a popular and memorable man that every year a group of his friends run an annual charity event in his honor. Every year, Finnegan’s Wake at 3rd and Spring Garden Streets hosts the “Beast Day” fundraiser. “Friends of the Beast” started the perennial event on the heels of the notion that although Beast was no longer here to help people, the people whose lives he touched could gather to celebrate his life. Since Beast was such a generous soul, his family and friends decided to make this a charitable event to raise funds for worthy causes.

This year’s Beast Day will be held on Sunday, February 12th. A donation for admittance is $25 and includes draft beer, and buffet. There will be several bands performing at the event, including The Rockets, and various Deejays from Philadelphia and North Wildwood: DJ Gibby, DJ Teek, and Qwik, to name a few. Beast Day also has amazing auction and raffle items every year. This year, featured items include Lagos jewelry, Phillies/Flyers/Eagles tickets, gift cards from Buddakan, Capital Grille, and many other awesome restaurants and bars. Other items include local event and attraction tickets, sports memorabilia, beer and liquor prize packs, and much more.

The money raised this year will benefit causes including but not limited to: 2 St. Warriors Football Program, Lacey Gallagher Memorial Scholarship Fund, North Wildwood Athletic Association, 2nd Street Irish Society Ice Hockey Team and the Milligan Family of Fishtown, who suffered a tragic loss to home and possessions in a house fire this past Christmas Day.

Joe Rafter, a resident of the river wards and owner of Liberties Bar and Restaurant, said, “We’re really trying to get a lot of people from Fishtown, Port Richmond, Northern Liberties, and other Riverward neighborhoods out to Beast Day this year. This is a great charity raising funds to help out people we live with every day.”

Tickets for Beast Day 2012 can be purchased at The Spirit offices, 1428 E. Susquehanna Avenue (at Gaul Street).  Tickets will also be available at the door on the day of the event.   For more information, call Joe Rafter at 267-251-2704.

Regarding Beast day, Todd said, “Even though he is gone, Beast reminds us to stop and take the time to sincerely appreciate the friendships we have, and not take your friends and loved ones for granted.”

“We will never forget this gentle beast,” stated Christopher Gedraitis’ parents, “Now everyone has a big smiley angel on their shoulders. He’s still looking out for us.”