Wind Down Wednesdays

Posted on by Thor

On August 21st I went downtown to go sketch a Yelp Happy Hour. Colleen (Blue) Burns is the Yelp community manager who organizes such events. These get-togethers are a great way to meet fellow Yelpers, those people whose write reviews about restaurants and just about any venue – for friendly conversation, lots of laughs and experience new local hangouts. The event was to take place at Eternal Tap (116 W Church St, Orlando, FL). As I walked down Church Street I couldn’t find and building numbers. I did however notice this large crowd of people gathered outside 55 West. This had to be a crowd of Yelpers.

I got busy sketching from a second story balcony.  An afternoon rain shower had just passed and the pavement was still sparkling wet. Drinks were available from under the green tent and loud music pulsed inside the establishment. I got to watch the social exchange as guys moved in to speak to women. The women were dressed to the 9’s but some of the guys felt it was fine to show up in blue jeans. I was in jeans myself but I was separate from the happy hour scene.

A policeman stood vigil at the Church Street circle waiting for drunken mischief.  It began to sprinkle and the gathering quickly darted inside. With the sketch done I peeked inside. This was Urban Flats (55 West Church Street Orlando FL) which is a chain restaurant. Lights flashed and the walls vibrated from the deep base in the music. Bars along Church Street were just starting to fill up. Eternal Tap must be further down Church Street, closer to the Amway Center. Pan handlers had moved into their positions for their daily take. Loft 55 Gallery and Boutique (55 West Church Street Suite 114 Orlando FL) was just a few steps away. I had met Ashlie Lawson, partner and director of marketing of this Micro-gallery just a few days before at the Solar Games open house. Mark Your Calendar! Every Wednesday artists gather outside the gallery to paint live and talk about art to passers by. Artists set up about 7pm and then paint late into the night. Hit a happy hour and then hang with some artists.

Ivanhoe After Hours

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Business owners from the Ivanhoe Village Business District mixed, mingled, and networked among the enriching art of the Mennello Museum of American Art, (900 East Princeton Street). There were libations and hors d’oeuvres. I arrived right after work and started sketching before the room got really crowded.

Dave PerMar from the Social Media Consulting Group and Colleen Burns from Yelp gave talks about how social media can help businesses. I sketched them as they set up their power points. According to Dave, Google + has been gaining influence online slowly inching towards Facebook’s influence. The benefits for any business are obvious and it is important these days to keep the conversation going with costumers. People trust advice from friends online rather than large corporate ad campaigns.

The wife of Rick Singh took an interest in my sketch. Rick is running for Orange County Appraiser and he was there with a broad smile shaking hands. I was encouraged by his wife’s obvious knowledge and love of art. She told me about Gallery G4 which just opened up downtown and she suggested I get down there and meet the owner. Linda Stewart was there as well and she suggested I go to a fundraiser for her campaign for Florida House District 47.

Yelp Orlando’s Summertime Street Soiree

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Yelp teaming up with CityArts Factory and the Downtown Arts District to
host a massive party, Yelp Orlando’s Summertime Street Soirée. Colleen Burns, aka “Blue” invited me to come sketch. Pine Street outside the City Arts Factory was blocked off with temporary fencing. Yelp is the site that connects locals to the best this city has to
offer. This event will be a great opportunity for everyone in the
community to come together to celebrate and enjoy complimentary bites
and adult beverages from local eateries and entertainment from The
Fifth, Bento, The Yum Yum Cupcake Truck, DJ A-Rock and KUSH just to name
a few. Since Yelp is all about the community, they partnered with City Arts
Factory, a community-minded non-profit, who collected donations
to keep the Downtown Arts District thriving.

I went to the event with my wife Terry and her book club friend Donna Connors. I was glad Donna could keep Terry company while I sketched. The challenge was that it was raining all morning. When we arrived and got our arm bands, I immediately rushed to find an overhang to sit under while I sketched. I decided to sketch the red flaming bar tent.

It began to pour. No, not just the drinks, I mean there was a typhoon. Winds soaked the sketch pages. The bar tenders ended up standing in curbside puddles  up to their ankles. That didn’t stop them from filling the complimentary drink orders. Most people had umbrellas or rain jackets. Others didn’t care, and they enjoyed the complimentary food and drink as they got soaked to the bone. I think the rain helped people meet and mingle as they huddled under tents and overhangs. I spotted blue once in here clear rain jacket and blue dress. She was in an animated conversation and I never got to thank her for organizing the huge event. A D.J.  stood in front of NV Lounge and he performed an amazing D.J. mix using only his voice and percussive lips. Words shuffled forwards and back and his hands animated the space in front of him like a giant mixing board. He was amazing but I didn’t sketch since rain continued to threaten. It was time to be social. I texted Terry, but she stood right behind me.

The three of us went into NV Lounge to sit at the bar and wait for the worst of the storm to pass. I ordered a Coke and the bartender said, “It’s on the house.” When the rain subsided, I ventures out to get a Woodchuck blueberry hard cider. Yum, I ordered another. There were long lines for sushi and other food stations. There was no line for Jeremiah’s Homemade Italian ice, so I got that. It was starting to rain again, so we agreed to go up to Donna’s apartment where it was dry and warm. As we drove up in my Prius, the sky opened up like a waterfall.

Masters of Mixology

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Terry told me about a bartender’s competition happening at Crave (4158 Conroy Road, next to Mall at Millenia). We agreed to meet there after work. I arrived first and found a spot next to the DJ where I overlooked the competition staging area. I started blocking in my sketch before the competition got started. Terry arrived and let me know that drinks were free for the first hour. Since I didn’t have any place to put a drink down, I decided to go dry. Terry asked why I wasn’t holding a drink and I explained, “It’s a waste of a perfectly good hand.” She let me sip a light blue concoction she was holding and it tasted like coconut. Yum… No, keep sketching.

Two beautiful women walked the room dressed as, perhaps wedding cakes or blue fairy princesses. They had glittering tiaras on their heads and carried platters with samples and a liquor bottle. The blonde woman gushed over my drawing when she saw it. My eyes darted about. I was too flustered to ask her what she was selling. Some journalist I turned out to be.

Ralph, the general manager at Crave, officiated the event. Colleen Burns from Yelp was one of the judges. I had seen her the day before at a Yelp Culture Club kickoff event the night before. The other judges were Sven and Olie. I envied their job of tasting unique drinks all night. The six bartenders were competing for a trip to Crave in Miami. The contestants were, Jake Berenson, Rob DeGiouine, Michelle Mariani, Aaron Christianson, Sarah Kaylor and Ashley Morin. In the first round the bartender working closest to me lined the martini glasses with streaks of chocolate. He was the first bartender to finish. The judges conferred and the contestants stood at their stations waiting for the results. The tension could be felt over the loud din of all the people shouting over the music at the bar. Jake was the top contender with 158 points. The top three bartenders moved on to the next round.

Terry had already left as soon as the free drinks stopped, which was before the first round of judging. When I finished the sketch, I realized I hadn’t been great company for Terry. I opted not to do a second sketch. As I walked out, I asked Colleen to let me know who the winner was the following day. “The winner was Jake Bereson from Ember! He beat out Michelle Mariani by 1 point.”, she wrote. I want to find out how to become a judge for drink tasting. I have some refined taste buds that are highly under utilized. As I walked alone through the rain to my truck, I realized I was thirsty.

txt at Urban ReThink

Posted on by Thor

Conceptual artist Brian Feldman has one more performance of txt tonight, July 25th at 7pm at Urban ReThink (625 East Central Blvd.). I sat in on the first of three performances to sketch. I have seen txt performed several times before and was entertained every time. For the first time, I signed into the proper Twitter account and was prepared to send Brian a txt during the performance to be read aloud. Brian walked out and sat at the spindly desk waiting for his cell phone to vibrate. He read, “Let’s get started with a couple of ground rules.” Terry was busy munching on a bag of potato chips. I wrote my first txt, he read, “Rule number 1. No eating!” He shouted it out, pointing at Terry. I placed my phone on the floor and forgot about it as I lost myself in the sketch.

“Thor is wearing a shirt he bought in North Carolina.” Terry must have written that, I thought. I looked at my shirt. Funny, I don’t remember buying it in North Carolina. Tod Caviness walked in late. “This guy is late,” Brian announced. I raised my hopes thinking Tod would offer some literary subtlety to the strange meaningless flow of ideas. As always, the unfiltered thoughts turned to sex. “Raise your hand if you want to have a 3 or 4 way later.” “Oh, there are swingers in the room?!” “Rule number 16, if no one laughs I’m going to stand on Thor’s shoulders and fart in your face.” Who on earth wrote that? I thought. Do I know that person. Do I want to know that person? “Rule number 237. No sex in the champagne room with Thor.” What?! I blushed. Alright, who wrote that? More important was it a man or woman? I looked around for a guilty face. Where on earth is the champagne room? I need to go sketch it now.”Sex in the champagne room at Hue. See you at 8.” Well that answers that question anyway, Hue is a night club. “I would totally rock Thor’s hammer.” “OK, who mentioned sex with Thor? It wasn’t his wife and if she finds you she will scratch your eyes out.” “Why is everyone talking about Thor, lets chat about Green Lantern! He is great too!” Thank Odin, the conversation wasn’t about me at all. I’m so vain.

Across from me Peter Murphy was sitting next to Colleen Burns. She wore a blue dress. “Hey girl in the blue dress, don’t wear a bra next time.” I looked up at Colleen her mouth was open, aghast. “Awkward.” Brian announced. “Later on I’m going to get down with that lady in the… (my eyes are bad)… The Blue dress!” “My boyfriend is obsessed with the girl in the blue dress.” “The girl in the blue dress is taken.” Well that settles that, I thought. “Imagine me planking on the lady in the blue dress later. Ha!” Colleen seemed to take all the attention with humor. “I am NEVER wearing a blue dress ever again!”

With no filters, no social niceties, people don’t have a need for polite meaningful conversation. The Internet has unleashed an age of unrestricted self-expression and the results are often brash and ugly. Tapping out every thought that pops into our heads isn’t art. Having contributed to this performance by tapping out my one tweet, I felt a little dirty. I was complicit in the crime of random expression. This show shocked and amazed me every time I saw it. It is a guilty pleasure. Several evenings later I saw Colleen at another event. She was wearing a blue dress.