Mingling in Atlanta
 
 

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Vince

So I’m Vince, the illustrious event writer for MinglingInAtlanta.com. Their job is to entertain you by throwing the events, mine is to entertain you by writing about them. I think they have the easier task.

 

Holiday Party — Dec. 12, 2008

I went to the Mingling in Atlanta’s Holiday Party at 5 Seasons Brewery and it was packed! I made my way around the impressive and festively decorated bar to find the people I was to mingle with that night. I find some seventy people idly chatting, others intently listening, while most are just standing around, quietly sipping their drinks.

The first thing you noticed about the group is their nametags. They are not the "Hi My Name is...," but just simple red and green tags with names written with a bold, black sharpie. I look around and see Aaron, Lisa, Angela and Matt. Before I can order a drink, a gal appears in front of me. "Hi, I'm Michelle, are you here for the Meet Up?" I smile back, and nod. That's why I'm here, to meet up and mingle. She writes Vince on the nametag, and hands it to me. "Our waitress is around here somewhere, grab a drink and make a friend. Thanks for coming." She grins and greets the next person.

The night starts off slowly, but gradually, like a snowball rolling down a hill as conversations start to build. Genuine smiles start appearing as people tell ice-breaking jokes and anecdotes from the workday as barriers that made us strangers give way to good conversation and laughter.

As the night progresses, people splinter off into smaller groups, forming mingling bubbles. The crowd becomes a loud hum of chatter as strangers become friends. Walking around you can watch as Jill almost spills her drink as she laughs at Ahmed and Mark's jokes. There is a couple sitting on the couch, talking about the stock market. They just met tonight and both invest in the same companies. Later I found out she liked his sense of humor and he liked her love of horror films, sometimes its just that simple.

This is what it's like to Mingle in Atlanta. You walk in to a nameless gathering of strangers and you leave with friends, jokes, or even a date.

Wine Tasting — Nov. 19, 2008

No matter what your alcoholic vice of choice tastes like, this past Wednesday night at Hall’s of Fine Wines, wine was king. The event, co-hosted by proprietor John Hall, was a benefit wine tasting supporting the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

Hall’s of Fine Wines is a cozy little place nestled on Highland Avenue in the recently developed stretch just west of Elizabeth St. With simple but elegant oak wood shelves and displays, you can tell it’s more about substance than flash. Possessing about 3,000 square feet of floor space, this spacious loft cellar was a great venue for our event. John has his wines arranged by type, then color and is yet another way he has made his store open to even the most clue less of wine drinkers. He has stripped away the usually prevalent clutter of giant advertisements and neon signs — save his own shining out on to the street, beckoning all — of the common liquor, wine and spirit stores that litter Atlanta and instead focuses his (and your) attention on taste and enjoyment and the relationship between the drinker and the drink; a philosophy he very quick to parlay to any patron who spends more than a few minutes talking to him. And John is one of the nicest and most knowledgeable shop owners around.

This evening, John had laid out six choice wines to showcase: two whites (Domerval Viogner and Three Winds Sauvignon Blanc), three reds (Santa Marta Merlot del Vento, my personal favorite - Cantina di Casteggio Barbera, and Chateau Lagrange Les Tours), and one dessert red (Rosa d’ Amore). As he poured, he offered a little explanation of why he selected that particular wine and what to "look for" in the flavor.

Close to 50 people showed up throughout the night. At times, there would be a line at the wine table, but that gave you a great excuse to talk to whoever was waiting next to you, someone you might not have otherwise met. And it was easy, because to start off you could ask which wine they were on and then compare what you liked or didn’t.

From the mix of ages there, you could see the way wine transcends generations. In fact, I had a wonderful conversation about the differences between my Gen Y culture with an older guy from Atlanta Business Magazine; how they have learned to appreciate taste and delicacy, and how we are still trying to get past binge drinking and keg stands. Now that’s mingling in Atlanta.

As far as the charity side of the evening, everyone raised over 70 pounds of canned goods for the food bank, which were dropped off on Friday. What a lot of corn and cranberry sauce.

I had a great time tasting wine, debating drinking politics, and meeting so many people. From the lively crowd, it seems others did too. I’m glad to know there are so many in our community ready and willing to give back. Thanks to all for making this event a success, and Happy Thanksgiving!

We best see you all again in a few weeks mingling at our Holiday Party on December 12th, at the 5 Seasons Brewing.

Guitar Hero Night — Nov. 12, 2008

Guitar Hero at Amore last Thursday night was my first event, and subsequently this is my first write-up. (Funny how that works.)

I must say I was impressed with Amore. It was a swanky — is that word even used anymore? — and hip little joint nestled in the Publix shopping center on 9th and West Peachtree in Midtown. It’s very eclectic with deep red walls, tables set into nooks with drapes for private affairs, hookahs, and even a dance floor. Much thought went into each detail, and it all comes together to create the perfect ambiance for a romantic night out or a gathering of friends to party. (The place even hosts a salsa night … wait, shouldn’t I be talking about our event?)

Well it’s hard to have a great event at a crappy venue, so I really appreciate Monsour Ismail for letting us use his fine establishment, even if we did disturb the peace during the set-up.

At 8:00, the Xbox 360 was already hooked up to the nicely sized 37” flat-screen bolted on the wall. With two guitars, people could go head2head, team up, or just rock out like Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. (Am I too young for that reference? 23 and single, ladies *wink*)

At first, people were shy about stepping up. I had to literally push the guitar into the hands of the first two players. But as the night progressed, more and more started to get in line to take a crack at the high score. We started off rocky getting the sound set up correctly and we upgraded TVs in the middle of the event, but after that was fixed, the night came together very well. The crowd varied in size but was never so large that you couldn't get your turn.

The first would-be rock star said she didn’t even come to the event for Amore. She just saw the set-up and had to come get her guitar on. We had several patrons of the restaurant coming up to play — it’s just that addicting.

The first high score was set by my man TJ. He put up a great performance playing against Kate on "Barracuda" by Heart. The night progressed and more songs were played, and while several people came close, no one touched the top score. (It’s okay, I was reminded, because most people play for fun anyway. Although I don’t know any of these people.) Kate and Steve made a run at it playing Boston’s "Peace of Mind" but fell shy about 50 points, although they looked damn good rocking out.

Finally TJ’s friend Sabrina "the Blazia" knocked his score off the podium with a stellar performance of 115,205. Through the rest of the night she stood at the top, which netted her a $50 gift certificate to Amore.

I got a chance to talk to Sabrina and TJ afterward, two of the people that didn't come for the event but had to check out what everyone was doing nonetheless. They were huge fans of the game and couldn’t pass up the chance to play. He said it was just the right time and place for him and was glad we were there. I expect to see them again at the next Guitar Hero Night.

I’d like to thank everyone that helped out: Mike Pollock for providing the equipment, the Amore staff for hosting us, the patrons who didn’t leave due to loud rock music and my attempts at singing, everyone who came out and who joined in, the guys (including me) who helped to haul the 50" off the railing, and finally Mike Himelstein for putting this whole thing together.

May the rock gods smile upon you all.