- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Yelp Summerfest 2009
Rating Details »
Category: Local Flavor [Edit]
Neighborhood: Irving ParkIrish American Heritage Center
4626 N Knox Ave
Chicago, IL 60630
- Nearest Transit:
-
Montrose (Blue)
- Good for Kids:
- No
146 reviews for Yelp Summerfest 2009
I don't care how late I am, sometimes life happens but can I just say
MOST. AMAZING. FREE. FESTIVAL. EVER.
Seriously.
When I arrive someplace and see that there are more beer vendors than food vendors, I get pretty excited.
When I realize that pretty much all the local breweries are there, I get more excited.
When I realize that not only is this free but people wouldn't ACCEPT my tips, I have found myself in a dream come true.
I started by scarfing down any and all food I could find. Pizza, hot dogs, salad, pasta. Since that was about it outside, we headed for the beer.
The karaoke kicked ass. The photobooth was top notch. We scored a hit with the actionbooth.
And after sampling just about every damn beer there, we ended with some Metropolitan (thanks Doug and Tracy) and hid out backstage like we owned the place watching the fire dancers.
I got a hangover from straight beer.
never happens.
Thank you Yelp.
Im late writing this, so bite me.
Now that I got that bit of negativity out of the way its all good for the rest of this review. Summerfest was awesome for so many reasons including (but not limited to) live band karaoke, excellent food, great people and a really nifty venue.
I loved the Action Booth. It was awesome and I nearly broke my leg but was amazed at how much air I got once I saw the pictures. Brown girls can jump. Rhonda, Unity and I rocked it in the photobooth, and Carolynne R did a great job with the flash mob!
Did I mention Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka cocktails? No?! Whoa- You can disregard everything else I said because all that really matters is that they had amazing drinks made with sweet tea vodka. I hear there was beer and other drinks of the alcohol variety too.
The Yelp ladies really did a great job organizing this gigantic event!
Man, I just woke up! I can't believe two goddammed weeks have passed! So, anything interesting going on in the world?
Anyway, this party was awesome, everything was just fricking awesome. The whole thing just was awash in piss and beer, and I mean that in the way that only the very best summer festivals can be - Bravo.
Hey, by the way, did anybody else see that Monster truck ram into all of those parked cars in the lot at the end? Dude, I moved my car just in time! Was that guy drunk or something or was that just part of the show? Hell, I don't know, wouldn't put it past Yelp though. Y'all mofos know how to throw a party!
For my last Yelp Chi event, it doesn't get any better than this.
Booze? Check.
Cupcakes? Check.
Photobooth? Checkcheck.
Popcorn and Yelp Wheel? Vitamin Water Wheel? Free new Vitamin Waters that haven't even been released to the public yet? Fancy coupons to Homemade Pizza Co with delicious salads? "Root beer"? drinks? Balloon animals? Checkcheckcheck...
I was also so glad to say farewell to most of you. Sorry I didn't get to play bags, or participate in the flash mob...but if ever you're in DC, give me a shout!
Awww.... I feel a gushfest comin' on!!!
Yelp Summerfest = 100% Yelp Love. This was my utopia... event perfection!
Plenty of indoor *and* outdoor space to mix and mingle without the daunting task of flights and flights of stairs in my ubiquitous 4" stilettos. Score!
The feel of a true Chicago street festival (but with an entry donation you can actually feel good about)... live band rockin', flowing beer, tasty eats and vendors-a-plenty providing you the opportunity for new favorite finds. Uh hello Crispin Cider, I'm talking to YOU!
312 Photobooth. God, isn't Anthony just downright swoonworthy? Love him... and the fact that he turned a blind eye to my motley crew jumping his ever present line :::winks:::
Finally meeting some newbz that were positively lovely and absolutely made my night! You know who you are, see you at the next one?
La Gondola was there!! As I rounded the corner and saw their table I audibly gasped a little 'Sweet Jesus'... Pasta Bosciola might as well be the second coming.
Ending the night after party style with an impromptu dance-off at my homebase pub. Nothin' but love to those of you who showed up!! My feet are still a-burnin'!!!!
Kudos to Andrea, Colleen and (now) Jelena for throwing THE party of the year!!
What a swell party!
Metro Brewing kept me amply supplied with fantastic beer all night. Sadly, despite a valiant effort, we didn't run them out of beer.
Plenty of elbow room made it easy to move around and mingle, though, I know I didn't see as many people as I intended. If I missed you, where were you?
There was a photo booth??? I guess it WAS a big party.
A special shout-out goes to Phil for the extra effort in introducing so many Yelpers to cevapcici!
Thanks to Colleen and the rest of the crew for putting on a great night! Let's do this again next year!
Sos I'm gettin the bejeesus cut out of my hair by Majel K. at the Strange Beauty Show, right? And I tell her that I am attending Yelp Summerfest later that evening and I'm freaked out.
She's all like, "I'm going to the Chipp Inn."
And for a moment I almost followed her like the disciple I am. We then discussed our fear of attending Yelp events and not getting to meet any Heavy Hitters but instead getting locked into horrid conversations with nobodies like Charles G. or Brenda P. (our silly way of mocking all them question markers) ... that said, if there is in fact either a Charles G. or Brenda P. out there, please don't hate me.
If you sneer at a Yelp event and no one gives a shit about you, does it make a sound?
Thankfully, I manned up and got my ass to Montrose. I didn't know where I hell I was going so I just followed people I thought "looked like Yelpers" (don't ask me to explain) and thankfully they didn't fail.
I quickly latched onto a prominent yet totally annihilated Yelper and decided to make myself indispensable by carrying around the clothing he continued to rip off of himself (not gonna name names here, ok?) and ordering the drinks that he was unable to order for himself. When I arrived at 8pm, he was already deemed "over-served" by the matronly barmaid. Results.
Life was good at Summerfest. Especially when someone handed me half a pizza* on their way out. Also, when I got totally shitcanned. That was fun too. Oh and I liked the part when I was sitting outside on the steps and I watched a certain Latin-man-in-a-vest get some free love from a total stranger (I think? I was kinda facing the wrong direction for proper gaping. Details?)
The best part of the night was the dancing. I busted some moves that looked exactly like this http://is.gd/1XQt2 but not really.
I'm sad I didn't get to check out the bathrooms. This means I drank entirely too much hard liquor and not enough water. Holy hell, I want to die as I'm writing this.
But yeah, I haven't sworn off Yelp like I thought I would after my Il Covo socially-awkward disaster. And I'm very glad I didn't.
*NOTE: This was the only thing I ate all day! There was so much tasty lookin stuff there (not just the food, hoho!) but I was so hell bent on getting messed up FAST that I forgot about the food until it was too late. DAME-IT!
I finally took pictures in the photobooth! And since it was 312, they looked amazing!
The outdoor part of the event was great. Lots of great beers and restaurants. I ended up playing a game of bags and running into some friends at Homemade Pizza Co and Ranallis! Small world!
Oh and whats that I hear... a live band... oh live band karaoke! I didn't partake in this part but I remember standing in the crowd cheering the singers on.
Indoors, was great as well, plenty of seating and great music by Toast and Jam. Irish bartendars always a plus! :)
Thanks to the beautiful CM team, Jelena, Colleen and Andrea!
So these two Irish guys are in a bar! LOL I love that one!
OK! I've lived in JP for 4 years and never have I been able to walk to a party in this town. We walked to Yelp Summerfest 2009! And am I glad we did, whew! The Yelp Party to end all Yelp Parties!
Size, Music, Dance, Food, Games, Yelpers and their Friends, Outdoor Festival Atmosphere, Did I say Food and of Course Colleen and Crew!
I'm so proud to be an Elite Yelper! I think were a movement now! We can sway a political election if we absolutely have to or cared enough to want to.
Forget that pass me a craft beer will ya!
If anyone can report if they were able to raise the $9k that was stolen would only top off this great event even more!
This was a perfect evening. Especially if you're a fat guy who likes to drink. I didn't try everything, because there was too much to try, and that's always a good thing.
Loved the indoor/outdoor setup. Who knew that by the end of the night, the folks outside with the beer would be laid back, while the folks inside with the sweet treats would be a raucous mess. Though looking at it that way, I suppose it makes sense.
As ever, reading the reviews afterward makes me wonder about the event I missed. Fire Dancers? Yelp Trivia? Where was I? And did the Flash Mob ever happen? I need to figure out how to be in three places at once for these events. But the one person I am had a great time.
Oh, hello review #600.
May I say that Summerfest was absolutely amazing! Props to Colleen C. and then entire Yelp Crew for putting together one of the finest parties this year. You ladies are amazing at what you do - thank you!
I am disappointed that I didn't try everything Summerfest had to offer since I spent a lot of time outside sampling awesome beer and mingling. I definitely could have sampled more sweets and just did not (single tear) and I should have gotten myself in that photo booth - dammit! There was a ton happening and it was absolutely great! The set up was perfect - enough booths that everyone was dispersed nicely so there wasn't too much waiting in one place. That's my favorite kind of well put together party. Nice, ladies.
Pastries Not Potaties - delicious! Thank you for the Blue Moon little tiny cake things... they were so tasty. Thank you to Homemade Pizza Co. for hooking me up with a coupon for a FREE pizza! Yummy, yummy food all around outside and the beer was awesome! I had my fill of New Belgium Skinny Dip and it was glorious.
Thanks to Actionbooth for capping off my evening with a ton of fun - I always love a good action photo of myself with my skirt flying up in my face. Yay! Yelp, you really know how to throw a good party and this is by far one of the best I've ever attended. There was so much to do and so much happening that this made for the best evening of my summer thus far. Awesome!
As the cobwebs have finally cleared from my brain and my feet stopped throbbing I feel ready to write my Yelp Summerfest review.
First, a shout out to my homeboy Francis, who was tending bar in the main inside area. While I know this party boasted some seriously awesome beers, I'm really more of a vodka girl, so I was absolutely delighted to find the ferociously strong Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka and Lemonade cocktails hiding behind the bar. And being the lovely Irish lad that he is, Francis supplemented my sweet tea vodka lemonades with a hearty hit of Rain vodka, too. A man after my own heart... and someone who obviously wanted to see my pull on my bad decision jeans due to vodka consumption overload!
Light nibbles? No way! With La Gondola, Pastries Not Potatoes and a slew of other food vendors, Summerfest definitely didn't let anyone go hungry. Except maybe me. Why I never eat at these things, I'll never know.... I'm just too busy mingling and posing for pictures.
Speaking of pictures, I love, love, love the Actionbooth team. Granted, I left a bit of my dignity at home with some of my shots, but it's all fun!
LBK? Check one two, one two. Yes, Journey is way overdone, but you can't help but break out some fist pumping moves and be-bop around to the sure fire hits we all love to sing.
And how about those Yelpers? I was happy to meet some new folks and see a bunch of my favorites, too. This was by far the biggest Yelp event, but the enormous indoor and outdoor space made it very comfortable. No pushing through crowds and no feeling claustrophobic. And being such a gorgeous summer night, the crowd was able to mix and mingle outside. Because EVERYONE looks better in the moonlight, eh?
Thanks to Yelp's bestest party planner, Colleen and her posse of Yelp lovelies Jelena and Andrea for blowing our minds with a great event. Keep up the good work!!!
CREAK, SQUEAK, CRACK, CREAK, SQUEAK, CRACK...do you hear that? Man that is the loud!! That my friends is the sound of one hell of a rusty reviewer. Seriously folks, it has been eons since a review has been written by moi.
What better way to get back into the game then reviewing the fanflippingtastic PARTAY thrown by the Yelp Goddesses themselves (Colleen, Andrea & Jelena)?!?!?!? Not to mention it is also the one year anniversary of my very 1st Yelp event (anyone remember YATW?).
At 1st the # of people attending this event kind of scared me and that is saying something since I love being around lots & lots of people. Who knew that this venue could accommodate like a BAZILLION people?!?!? It was so comfortable, spacious, and heck there was even seating (no sore tootsies for this lady!). There was no crowding whatsoever, there was ample space to walk around & check out the vendors which was incredibly refreshing--kudos to your space managing skills ladies!
Upon entering the event, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this was an indoor & outdoor event. I remember saying---WHAT?!?! There is more?!?!? My eyes & my tummy feasted on all the delectable offerings ranging from cupcakes & cookies to full fledged meals (hello La Gondola your offerings were humongous!). This girl left the party FULL! I could not even make it too all the vendors because once I hit La Gondola I was done (and happy!).
So, not only was there food & beverage galore--there were games--so fun! Gotta love the bean bag toss, the soccer ball kick, and the action booth--okay, okay technically not a game, but you do exert a ton of energy to get those shots!
I would have to say that my only 3 regrets of the evening:
1) I had to leave early (boo on me!)
2) that I did not get to try all the dessert options (I have one massive sweet tooth).
3) I did not get a chance to see all the people I wanted to see. Next time folks, next time.
All in all one fabulous evening full of fun, laughter, and a FLASH MOB.
Mmm...Yelp Summerfest was finger lickin' good! Thanks Colleen, Andrea and now Jelena for a Summerfest celebration that was out of this world!
From the cocktails to the numerous beer options and non-alcoholic drinks, there was something for everyone. The cocktails I sampled were the beach ball and Rain vodka and cranberry, which were pretty tasty. Then I had to sample some Guinness 250, and New Belgium's Skinny Dip, which were also good choices.
As for the food the Cevapcici ruled! I'm glad I waited 25 minutes in line for this scrumptious sausage delight.
Also, the activities were so much fun and ranged from:
- DJ's spinning beats inside
- Photo booth
- Action booth
- To Live Band Karaoke outside
- And Fire dancers, which was my personal favorite
I also enjoyed the fact that the weather cooperated so I could mingle outside with old yelp buddies and make some new ones as well.
I think this was my first event with such a fabulous indoor / outdoor combo. Beer garden and bags outside and full bar and more treats inside? Yes. Please. The IAHC was a great choice of venue!
I somehow manged to de-gourmet-ify my food choices throughout the night. (STFU, there is no real word to describe the slow decline from fancy veggie pizza at 7pm to domino's philly cheesesteak pizza at 10pm). The usual "light food will be served so plan accordingly" was a cautious understatement this time! There was tons of food and no way to sample everything. I did not wait out the cavvacawapicci line, and I'm not looking up that word for the proper spelling since I am not too concerned about real words in this paragraph, and didn't eat it so can't review or spell it.
The beer vendors were a little feisty and competitive! I am FINE with anyone who wants to fight to serve me a beer. I did try to stick with the local breweries and my abso fave was Flywheel by Metropolitan Brewing.
Fabulous friends in fabulous summer outfits on a lawn. . . loved it and so did my guests.
Spring Fling still remains my most favorite Yelp event ever, but Summerfest came pretty close!
There were 2500 people there? Really? It didn't feel like it. The Irish American Heritage Center was so spacious. Too spacious! I missed out on a lot of things because I just couldn't find them. Where was the sweet tea vodka? Where was Pastries Not Potatoes? Oh well.
What I did not miss out on was the outdoor beer tent. So fun! And it gave a great summer festival feel to this event. How many beers where there? To many. I couldn't decide! I think I sampled almost everything. What's that saying? "Beer before liquor..."? Well I have a new saying: "What the hell! It's been a while since I threw up on the train." Which thankfully did not happen. :)
It was nice to see Phil serving the cevapcici and even nicer to see so many people standing in line for it! Welcome to the wonderful world of cevapcici, folks! And the next time you see Phil give him a big hug because he served those sausages way longer than he was supposed to and had a faulty grill.
The weirdest thing about this event was running into people that I know and aren't Yelpers. My friends ran into their neighbor. I ran into a hasher (no, it's not what you think) friend. It made for a fun mix of Yelp and non-Yelp party people. I love talking to my Yelp buds, but meeting "outsiders" is nice too.
Congratulations Colleen, Jelena, and Andrea! You created a wonderful fun event. :)
Let it be told in future Celtic legends that upon this spot, a great feud amongst Chicago Yelpers did end.
Uponest drinking much Guinness 250, the surliest of knights did approacheth his sworneth enemy and doth shake his hand upon the giant field of battle where the party was being held.
But what, perchance, put said surly knight in such a fine mood?
Perchance it was the many libations that dideth grease the wheels of forgiveness. There wereth so many to choose from. Some hailed from far off lands such as Colorado and others were the finest of local brews.
Perchance it was the varied entertainments. The Yelp minstrels bellowing the karaoke tunes accompanied by live lutes and percussives.
Perchance it was the Chicago Fire selling wares (discountedth tickets).
Perchance it was the DJs spinningth great musics.
Perchance it was the Yelp trivia contest where the surly knight vanquished three foes to win tickets to see the jesters at Comedy Sportz.
Perchance it was just the luck of the Irish.
Nay, it was probably the booth for capturing images. The knight likes any party which containeth that.
Whatever it was, Colleen C., Andrea R., and Jelena Z. deserveth great plaudits for another show well put on!
I've aged 10 years in 2009. My presence in bars is infrequent, I go to bed early, dinner parties in the suburbs are common and my library card is racking up some SERIOUS frequent flier miles. I'm not sure how Colleen and my friends (all of whom are casual Yelpers) orchestrated this brilliant intervention behind my back, but I thank all of you. It worked.
Like most, I feared the crowds would be overbearing and was surprised to find things very casually spread out. There were MORE than enough beer vendors and that is almost never the case when freebies are involved. I don't do the brew (go ahead, shame me) but a quick encounter with Carol J directed me to the upstairs bar where the mixed drinks were found.
We arrived too late to play bags, but that was an amazing addition. Booze and bags are what summer in Chicago is about. The fire twirlers were a nice surprise, and the Live Band Karaoke kept us entertained the entire time we were outside. I debated going up a few times, but ultimately chickened out.
The post party was somewhat of a blur. By the time the freebies were done, I had already made peace with the fact that I'd pissed away half of my summer, and was mentally committed to catch up on the back nine. Two words solidified my intentions. Car bombs. My friend and I split a round for the six of us and my jaw dropped when I heard the bartender say they were $30. $5 Car Bombs?! Oh shit - this is not a drill. Keep them coming lady! By the end of the night I was handing them out like Oprah. "YOU get a car (bomb)... YOU get a car (bomb)... and YOU get a car (bomb)... YOU ALL GET A CAR (Bomb)!"
Sweet sweet drinking. I'll never give you up again.
Yelp Summerfest = Yelp Perfection.
Beer garden + ample beer + friendly faces + fabulous plus ones (love you, Mom!) = amazing night. (Plus, it didn't hurt that the weather was nothing short of glorious.)
I got to meet some Yelpers that I had always seemed to miss at previous parties, which is always lovely, and catch up with my favorites as well.
So much to see, so much to do, but I loved it all. My faves included the pizza from La Gondola (my mom is now a HUGE fan), Magic Hat, Two Brothers Brewery, free key chains from the Sam Adams gal, photo booth, live band karaoke, Toast and Jam (love!!!!)....and, pretty much everything.
Oh yeah, and Yelp + Colleen = Fabulous.
What can I say that hasn't already been said?? Pretty much nothing. So I will simply add to the raves about what a great and fun event this was. Awesome job to everyone involved in setting it up.
While I was a little worried it would be mobbed the venue was perfect to accomadate everyone. I spent the majority of my time outside though because it was such a nice night out.
Great drinks + great food + great people = Great time
A big thank you to Colleen, Jelena and Andrea for putting on a great summer event for us Yelpers!
I had a fantastic time catching up with my favorite Yelps and meeting a few new people!
Good food, good drinks, great space and fantastic entertainment.
Five stars all the way!
If you couldn't make it to Summerfest, you definitely missed a great time. There was beer galore. I had the Matilda (yikes, 8%) I felt that one later and the Magic Hat was pretty good. The sweet tea vodka drinks were nice too. The first 2 had a great vodka kick, the last one of the night was all juice. I couldn't sample much of the food because I ate before I came. The La Gondola pizza was awesome as always. I didn't sample any sweet bites.
Great set up, it was nice to hang out in the "beer garden" because the weather was so perfect. It was nice and cool inside with a lot of dancing going on. It didn't seem like there were 2,000 peeps up in there. Great space and thanks to the Yelp ladies that made all this magic happen!!
Thanks to Colleen and everyone else at Yelp for throwing another fabulous party. And thanks for including the likes of Metropolitan Brewing, Two Brothers and Half Acre (I like local beer, what can I say?).
Also glad to see we raised some money for the IAHC. What a great venue. And really nice people (based on past experiences at the Center).
Can't wait for the next one!
I have been over-served & I love it.
Beer. Craft beer. IPA beer. Matilda. (Goose Island bitches.) Two Brothers. (Warrenville, represent!) Plus hard alkie-haul mixers with so-so vodka.
Oh yeah, and a wee bit of pizza and sam'miches. (Sam'mich secret: The food maker will let you cut line for a cup of 250th Anniversary Guinness. Yep, yep.
At Yelp Summerfest, I got to publicly declare my love for Mark Buerhle's team - the president's favorite team - the White Sox , and sing a duet with Denise of the 2005 championship team's theme of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'. " Yeah, we rocked the outdoor party.
Inside, I rocked the dance floor with a nervous partner dancing to the late great King of Pop. Colleen, I did all I could to make this party a success. Did it work? I'm thinking yes.
As a Yelp old-timer I have attended many a Yelp event, but again I have to tip my summertime hat to the Yelp crew (Andrea, Colleen, and now Jelena, plus a cast of thousands) for setting up the BEST YELP EVENT EVER!
The indoor/outdoor setup at the Irish American Heritage Center was perfect (thanks in part to the good weather), so the mass of humanity was allowed to spread over many fun places and spaces. the IAHC building reminded me of my old grade school, so I happily threw in a few dollars into the Pot O'Gold.
Here are some random memories of Yelp Summerfest:
PhotoBooth
Yelper Kris and her delicious Nice Cream samples (chocolate + basil = yum!)
Matilda beer!
HomeMade salad in a martini glass
Astronomer Joe and his camera contraption
The amazingly long line for the Croatian sausage (cevapcici), which was really delicious and actually worth the wait
Seeing fellow Golden Elite Ellen M (and Andy too)
Seeing newer Yelpers like Lisa C and Val
Colleen doin' that Katy Perry song (Go Colleen!!)
Dragos the Romanian sticker man
Yelp goodie bag filled with miscellaneous goodies
Yelp Summerfest was truly Yelp-tastic and will never be topped (but you know it will be one of these days...)
Totally 5 stars!!!!
Colleen ...check.
Jelena. ....check.
Andrea ...check.
Chicago yelp crew ...check.
Colleen even imported the awesome weather for this event. ...this says it all! ;-)
This was an awesome event! If every wedding reception I went to for the rest of the summer could be like this I would really like that.
Did my first Irish Car bomb,
was involved in a flash mob
sweet tea voda
pizza
nice action shot of my big butt on the internet courtesy of Action photo
good times all around...triple kudos!
Me (Richie D.--the "D." written in pen not marker)
+
Crowds of people
(alright not just any people but the diverse, outspoken Chicagoan Yelpers)
+
Alcohol
=
...usually my worst nightmare, BUT there was some spark of something that turned my "frown upside down" and allowed me to have a BLAST.
The word FREE all over the place...CHECK!
Local breweries (options other than beer--cider & mixed Root Beer Float thing-a-ma-jiggers)...CHECK!
Live music, games and entertainment...CHECK!
Outdoor and indoor options...CHECK!
Photo ops everywhere (LOVED the Photo Booth)...CHECK!
Fun, unique Irish twirk to the ambiance...CHECK!
Some of the best people watching...CHECK!
Colleen and the rest of the fabulous followers who could only dream to be here...CHECK!!!
Yelp Elites, we truly hosted one of Chicago's BEST parties. Ahhh, so proud, so proud.
Colleen's superhuman party planning skills+cheeky vendors with sumptuous eats and drinks+fun loving Yelpers old and new= priceless night at the Irish American Heritage Center.
As an aside I really felt comfortable in this venue because it had essentially the same floor plan as my middle school. Even the entrance to the playground was in the same place.....
Another weird question....why were there pre-teen children there? I felt a little weird about that as I know how some of these events get.
Bottom line: it felt like home with good food and people. There were some people I missed but I did get to see some of you that I had not seen since there was snow on the ground......
Insane absolutely insane, it kind of reminded me of recess. All the kids came out to play in different areas, I felt like I was running around one big playground. Colleeny and crew pulled a big one off and I think all the people that were worried about space or whatever need to kiss a little butt.
I think it says a lot about the crowd when the vendors that are working it are having fun too. Speaking of the vendors, all of them were really cool and playful, they handled us all with ease. My winner of the night goes to Crispin Cider, I'm not a fan of cider but I was happily drinking this all night.
Great event, great location, and great to see everyone!!
Big shout out to the awesome Carolynne for the FLASH MOB, can't wait till next time!!
So what are going for next 4,000 people @ the Allstate Arena?!?!
This was one of the great ones. I tell ya---nothing beats a great Yelp crowd, good drinks & funky music. Oh yeah 312photobooth was there too!
I loved the fact that this event was inside & outside. I didn't feel the need to get naked. [Yes. Usually I do because I'm just so darn sweaty when I get my groove on at Yelp Elite Events!] There was tons of room for people to move in & out of. I saw a lot of my favorite faces & got to chat with a lot of people.
Sadly, I didn't get to eat anything at this event. I wanted to try all the sweets, but I was afraid of my allergy getting in the way. Although with the root beer & vanilla liquor drinks, who needed to eat anyway!?! Oh yes--being on the blue line was a total plus! :)
Thanks Colleen, Andrea & Jelena!
I was pleasantly surprised to find out I could actually walk around the place, I expected a shoulder-to-shoulder kind of crowd after seeing the big "I'm In" list!
We were there early enough to not wait too long for the photobooth or the sausages.. that was great! I wasn't too hungry and I don't drink beer.. so I actually just had popcorn, a slice of La Gondola's pizza, a pancake and shared a cocktail. In retrospect, it does sound like I might have been hungry.
I LOVED the live band karaoke! I really wanted to try it but I didn't have any liquid courage. I think if the mic could have been shared, I would have sooo gone up there with a friend. My only wish is that I were taller so that I could have seen the fire dancers. Other than that, it was a pretty perfect event. Oh wait, and there were sooo many people I wanted to meet in person but I didn't bump into them. :(
Friday night was so much fun! I think this was one of the biggest events I have attended, so many great breweries, fab food & wonderful peeps! This was the only event I did not partake in the photobooth, actionbooth, or any other games but boy did I have a good time talking it up with some new friends. Can't forget about the Flash Mob! We rocked that shit out!
Thanks Yelp Crew!
Holy shit, where to begin!! In comparison with all other Yelp events, this one took the cake! Yelp Summerfest 2009 was something between 1 part down-home beer swiggin' Chicago-style block party, 1 part swanky dance hall shindig, 3 parts ass-kickery.
There were so many elements to this party that made it great. Mega props go to.... Nice Cream: Jesus Christ, the chocolate basil ice cream nearly brought my lady-friend and myself to our knee's! The Cevapcici man: Waiting in your line was worth every red cent to have a few laughs with you. Screw Comedy Sportz, the Cevapcici man needs to have a one man show! Just put him on a stage with a grill full of sausages and i'd buy a ticket. Chicago Fire Throwers: you sacrificed all of your body hair and risked burning your nads off for us and for that, i'm thankful (yes, I did say nads, i'm trying to bring it back into colloquial English language). Metropolitan Brewery: your beers kept me fat and giggly all night. Me love you long time.
On a side note, what the hell was up with Batter Blaster's? The name itself was indicative of grossest porno flick you've ever seen (Although i've heard Batter Blasters Volume III was way better than I). Nonetheless, what ramshackle temp agency hired the jokers making the actual pancakes to promote this crazy concept?!! All I saw was a big plastic bowl full of burnt up morsels and the dude's sayin' "Oh yeah, we're working to get the right temperature on the griddle". Fast forward two hours later and the stack of char broiled cakes had doubled and the workers abandoned the ship! HA! It made for great laughs.
Colleen C.....you've managed to do it again! I'm proud to be a yelper. This event was one of the best parties i've been to all summer. Over the top, tons of fun and didn't cost me a goddamn nickel (besides a few tips). Thaaannnkk yoooouuu Yelp!
So as I'm standing in line being introduced to some new yelp friends someone says "There's going to be 2,500 people here tonight - biggest yelp event ever". Someone else responds "I hope we can get a drink!" We should have known better.
I was one of the first people to venture outside and I was like a kid in a candy store. Where to start!? Okay, Matilda is a must...then I'll make my rounds.
I sampled the awesome cider (liked the cloudy one in the big bottle the best) and the carbonated Guinness 250 was surprisingly pretty good! I grabbed some pretty cool bottle openers (I actually needed one!) and padded my stomach with some bruschetta and hot dogs. I should have gotten in that cevapcici line sooner because after taking a bite of Amy H's I was in love! The Domino's pizza was genius and I managed to make it in the back ground of of their video.
I enjoyed the live band (I thought they were having a DJ) and was actually pretty impressed by the singing talent of fellow yelpers! After it was all over I was headed home but got a second wind and stayed to listen to Gareth Woods and laugh at my dancing friends.
I never waited for a drink and it certainly didn't feel like there was 2,500 people there. The Irish American Heritage Center was a perfect venue and we were lucky enough to have AWESOME weather!
CONGRATS to Colleen & crew for another flawless awesome yelp event! Your hard work paid off and it certainly showed! I'm very grateful to have been a part of it!
Go raibh maith agaibh!! - "Thanks a million" in Gaelic!
The setting was perfect. A beautiful summer night, beautiful venue and great friends.
Before I start, I just wanted to thank, Colleen, Andrea and everyone else who put together this wonderful party.
This bash was set up perfectly. Plenty of room to mingle, great food and plenty of Adult beverages. The mix of the indoor and outdoor areas were perfect.
The Irish Center is a beautiful building. They did a great job modernizing it with out taking away the old decor that made those old school houses special. The band outside was great, they did a great job backing up all of the Yelpers that could sing, and drowning out all of the Yelpers that couldn't. That band that played on the inside stage at the end of the night was wonderful as well.
These parties just keep getting better and better. I have met some wonderful people on Yelp, and I can't wait for the next event.
I am super sad - I had been feeling sick all day, so the party was not as fun for me as I would have liked because I was sitting in the corner all night with the little balloon men. I felt bad for my +1 because he dutifully stuck by me as I whined about feeling sick.
But the vendors at this party were really choice - everything I ate was delicious. Who knew there were that many bakeries that made tiiiinnny little cupcakes? I did not.
Also - great setup. I didn't even get to explore all of it (with the sitting in the corner feeling sick and all). Nice job.
Colleen, take my advice, retire now. Pull a Jordan and retire after winning the championship. Every party you've ever thrown has been better than the previous one, and this one is the pinnacle. You can't top it, generations will talk about the party at the Irish Heritage Center.
First, what a great place for an event, the Irish Heritage Center is a really neat building. You walk in, and there's a bar. Not some make shift bar for the event, but a real bar. A bar that's better then in most bars. Then outside, is a giant lawn to hang out under the stars (or where there would be stars if we didn't live in Chicago) on a beautiful night.
Second, the beer selection. I walked outside and was overwhelmed by the choices of beer. And not just trying to choose between Miller Lite and Bud Light. I mean, Goose Island, Shiner, Truman Pils, Sam Adams, Guinness, Two Brothers, Half Acre, and probably another 5 I didn't' even see.
Third, the food. Inside there were some many different companies with so many different sweets. It was like I died and went to sugar heaven. (Although, I only was in here for about 5 minutes, see point 2 above). And La Gondola pizza outside, oh how I love your pizza.
So Colleen, we'll miss you at yelp, but really, there's no place to go but down. BE LIKE MIKE.
I should have saved more energy. I woke up bright and early, moved from one apartment to the next, and then it was time for Summerfest. I decided that it would be a great way to get to know one of my roommates a little better, and invited him.
We took the blue line. We walked according to directions. When I saw signs, and people outside, I thought: That can't be it, someone else is having a party near the place where we are going to party.
It was it. I had arrived.
We checked in, and made our way through doors. We followed the flow of others, and stood in line for the first drinks available. The mixed drinks were good, but after making my way outside, I decided the beer garden was where I would be spending most of my time.
Smiles & Hellos were exchanged, and a few flirtatious moments(it wouldn't be a Yelp event without them). Everything went great and the event was placed on a perfect summers evening. When it was time to go, I had hoped that they would still be doing the same event the next day, for the next week, all month long.
As a token of his appreciation, Jeff, the new roommate took me to a few neighborhood bars. I showed him how to walk in without waiting in line, he showed me how to get a lady to buy drinks for both of us all night.
Yelp makes me happy. Thanks for doing the things you do for all of us.
Surprise, surprise - Colleen, Andrea and now Jelena and the rest of their Yelp crew have done it again!
Lots of free drinks and free drink options - check
Lots of food choices - check
Music - DJ and karaoke - check
Lots of opportunities for free Yelp and non-Yelp swag - check
Photobooth, action photos and more - check
A well chosen venue with plenty of space and bathrooms - check
About the only thing I can think to complain about was the fact that the bites were not light. I wish I hadn't eaten a meal before coming because there was more stuff I would've liked to have tried; while my eyes said hell yes, my tummy said hell no! But really, that's a good problem to have because on the flipside I would've been a drunk, stumbling, starving puddle.
I had a blast mingling with old and new Yelpers, trying out new drinks and eats, and enjoying one of our few lovely summer evenings.
Fabulous job ladies, you far exceeded my expectations, which were already high!
