Anti-Valentines Elite Event

What a great chance to catch up with Unilocalers old and new!
I was delighted to finally have the chance to personally welcome Vivek «The New Sheriff in Town» S. to CM-​dom at the Augusta House, with tasty beverages provided by Amsterdam (shameless plug for a generous sponsor). Having barely been out in a year, it was really comforting to know that many of the old guard are still kickin’ it Unilocal style, but also that there are a ton of new and exciting people to hang with.
Next time I vow to eat more.
Looking forward to the next one!

Okay… so i’m not an elite. In fact I’m quite a newbie. But i managed to squeeze into this event as a +1.
Awesome! It was my very first Unilocal event and my socks were officially knocked off. Loved the venue, the décor was perfect.
Food… YUMMERS! The veggie spring rolls and pork wontons… Mmmm! I met my food twin, and the other half of my broken heart. Great ice breaker. Plus the little Unilocal bonuses everywhere like tattoos, mints, gloves and candy were awesome. Thanks to Vivek for being so wicked.
I can’t wait for the next event ;)

I’ve done events at Augusta House in the past so I have a little soft spot for this location, and was really happy to find out an Elite event was taking place in a familiar territory for me.
Enjoyed trying that Rolling Bock from Amsterdam. That’s some good beer! Could have drank a few bottles of those… Always nice to see familiar faces within the first few minutes of arriving. Almost forgot to wear something black and nearly left the house in light blue.
Wasn’t too sure about the «heart around the neck» thing at first and wasn’t paying attention to potential matches, but was a little disappointed when I realised I never located my counterpart.
Shouts to Kim from Augusta House and Vivek for another great event!

I left with my broken heart unmended, but big shout outs to Nicole H and Eric M for banding together and forming a threesome for the photo booth!
That along with great tasting drinks, the hot company, Anti Valentine dress code and a matching backdrop makes this yet another amazing Elite Event!
While the DJ’s taste in tunes did not match up to my own, the awesome Unilocal gloves made for exciting photos and coolness. Thanks for Susan G for being my +1 yet again and Stephanie C for all the pictures.
Special shout out to Hana B for being a «shot pusher» as she calls it for making sure we didn’t leave without a few shots in our belly as my pictures show and Payam Z can attest to that :)
A little difficult to actually find the entrance to the party, but the other event going on next door pointed us in the right direction :) Wish I could have met some of you new Unilocalers I was hoping to bump in to like Sarah Y, but definitely next time!
I also apologize if I just came up and stared towards your crotch region, it was all en effort to find the pieces of my broken heart! :)

What a great time!!!
Dive Bar?! I don’t think so! I loved the décor — perfectly coordinated to go with our red and black dress code! I was so happy to see everyone participating, especially my +1 who was the hottie in the red hat!
Drinks were delish, and food was awesome too. Big ups to those pork wontons — I couldn’t get enough! The matching heart game was an excellent icebreaker (as if we needed one!), and I was delighted to be perfectly matched to the beautiful and illustrious Kat T.
I loved the music as well — old skool jams are always a hit with me!
Well done V. for such a non-​romantic, romantic anti-​Valentines Day party!!!

I woke up without a headache! Probably because I ate and danced A LOT and burned all the drinks I had last night.
At first I was sad to find out Fabio N. is not my true soulmate, but upon the quite obvious discovery that, yes, Lauren M, the one who can handle more spice than I, is THE CHOSEN ONE, I was happy again. I’m sure Fabio will understand.
Food was very good, I loved both the fruit kabobs and the shrimp rolls (I’m partial to shrimp whatever).
This was a very FUN party, indeed.

Props to Vivek for throwing another successful elite event! Nice to catchup with some folks, and my +1 was not scared off. I thought the Amsterdam tasting setup was nice, and the Spring Bock they were sampling was actually pretty good.
–1 star since I couldn’t find my matching heart — another reminder of my soul-​crushing loneliness.

Loved the venue and how it totally went with our theme, the dashing crowd in red & black, getting to sample the addictive shrimp spring rolls. The drinks would have been better without the grenadine syrup (WAY too sweet), but once I requested for them not to top up my drink with it, I was more than happy. The highlight of my night was finding my Unilocal soulmate — Kate M, the Unilocal gloves and watching Fabio and Renata’s dance with the giant heart balloon, lol!
Great event! Cant wait for the pictures!

One of the great things about Unilocal is the exclusive category of awesome people. Yes, that obviously includes me. The mingling, having fun conversations and meeting new people make up the recipe for a truly kick-​ass Elite event.
We’ve got some great new members and elites this time around, and it was hilarious trying to decipher the plus ones from the invitees.
Some gorgeous lady in red was clicking away with her camera, while we ate, drank and drank some more.
Though, it was sometimes hard to get the bartender’s attention, the drinks kept flowing. Another successful event by the (temp.) Tattoo-​ed Vivek!

Let’s weigh this up.
PROS: Free high five upon check-​in which I totally redeemed right away, really awesome venue, friendly staffers, plentiful drinks, great setup for the food (and kudos for it not all being fried — those fruit kabobs were a delight), commiserating with other shape-​recognition-​challenged Unilocalers who couldn’t find the other half of their hearts either, catching up with lovely people, meeting lovely people, booty shakin’, snagging a very necessary Unilocal fan toward the end of the night as it all got a bit steamy.
CONS: I am human and have to sleep at some point, which meant leaving the party. Sadness.
HOT DAMN. If this is anti-​Valentines then who needs the actual thing? Thanks Vivek, and all you other lovely fantastic Unilocalers for making it a grand evening out.

I have a confession, I was a little nervous to come to this event last night not knowing anyone, but it turned out I had absolutely no reason to be, what a GREAT group of people you all are!!!
Everyone I met was friendly, smiley, and really f***ing cool! I had some great laughs and great conversations last night.
Special thanks to Karl R. for showing me the ropes!
It was nice to finally put some real faces to all of these great reviews and what a great venue to do it in. Just the right size (felt full without being over crowded). Great food (especially those strawberry/​pineapple kabobs, YUM!), and best of all Unilocal gloves and mints! :-)
Looking forward to seeing you all around soon.

I have nothing to say, I had a great time.
I didn’t eat the food but I’m sure it was excellent and I had planned on giving my liver a reprieve after abusing it last week at San Francisco Beer Week but that clearly didn’t happen.
I’m now going to McDonalds to try to convince them to make me a mcmuffin even though breakfast has been over for 40 mins.

I hate to go super cliché on all y’all but pictures do speak a thousand words, and all you have to do to know about this event is check out Dishan’s pictures above! Clearly I was having more fun than should be allowed at most events, and no, I did not know my back was used as a name tag recycle station until the very end.
Kudos to Vivek et al for another cool and creative event! I probably would have never found Augusta House if it wasn’t for this event and in fact I spent at least 5 minutes outside trying to recognize Unilocalers at the gallery party next door! The drinks and food were aplenty and a special shout-​out goes to Jordan from Amsterdam Brewery; beer always tastes better once you hear the back-​story with such enthusiasm.
The icebreaker game was an awesome idea even though I ended the night without my other half! Initially I wasn’t too crazy about the Unilocal gloves and only realized how cool they were once I sobered up! They will provide a much needed extra layer of insulation when I hit the slopes this weekend, and undoubtedly make me a star at the neighborhood roller disco!
Thanks to all the friendly Unilocalinos for the great company! SYOY!

For a «Dive Bar», this place exceeded my expectations in every way. The red and black theme really played out well here, and fruit kebabs… hello tastiness! This is what Valentines should be like every year!
I’ve never been anti V-​Day, but this was the perfect opportunity to celebrate in style — met some cool new Unilocalers and enjoyed the music. And more of those teensy tiny Unilocal mints that I love to steal. Great job Vivek & team with this event!
My match is still out there… somewhere.

My first ever Elite event! Yippee! It was great to finally meet you all in person! (I even finally discovered who the man behind the mask of Tony F. is…).
Thank you Vivek for putting on such a great event. The cocktails were awesome, though after having had 3, I still don’t know what was in it…
@Karl R — You are even more fun in person! And I’m totally in the next time you need a dining companion
@Jennifer K — You really should think about starting up a matchmaking business
@Simon L — I hope we’ve now inspired you to write more reviews!
@Tony F — Definitely invite me out to your next pot luck
@Laura C — Loved your arm warmers!
Can’t wait to see the pictures!

What can I say, Renata and I are a MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN, so I was not really surprised to find out she was my secret soul mate.
Augusta House, what a PERFECT venue for a Valentines (or Anti-​Valentines) event! Big, sexy, red décor! Big props to Vivek for organizing!
Reasons why this party rocked:
— FRUIT KABOBS. yum
— Everyone rocking out their red & black outfits, well done ppl!
— Secret lovers photo booth
— Finding a conversation heart with a penis printed on it
— Great tunes and adequate space for dancing
Awesome time catching up with my most favourite Unilocalers (except Eric, Elaine and Bijan — where were they?) and finally managing to meet a few new ones.

The day after crash is always the worst. My life on Unilocal has created this monthly routine:
Go to work, listen to 10 men talk about hockey and hockey trades I don’t understand, go home. Go to work, listen to 10 men talk about hockey fights, go home, go to the gym. Weekend. Eat hot dogs. Sort laundry. Go to work, listen to 10 men talk about reality tv shows I don’t understand, go home, go to Unilocal elite event.
** 3 HOURS OF INTENSE STIMULATION FUN PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT STUFF I UNDERSTAND 90S MUSIC TREATED AS IF IT WAS A HISTORICAL CURIOSITY FREE FOOD NAME TAGS ALL THE CHAPSTICK YOU CAN GRAB **
Go home.
Crash next day.
Repeat.
Augusta House is listed on Unilocal as a «dive bar» but in some ways it was the perfect Unilocal venue. Lots of floor space. Lots of great finger foods. Great bar crew. Easy to belly up to the bar and get your drink.
Major shout outs (do the kids still say «shout out»?) to:
— Chris and Danielle for helping me find the place. I was looking for a house. Who knew?
— Vivek for his patience in my ever changing plus one shell game.
— Tony because I should mention another rank ‘n’ file male Unilocaler in this list to make it seem like I really go to Elite events for reasons other than to just talk with pretty girls.
All ‘n’ all a great elite event where I think everything came together perfectly.

Awesome. Just awesome fun.
This being my third Elite event it was so great to meet everyone! And yet there are still others I want to meet but never got a chance to, Hello!
Loved the broken hearts ice breaker, worked like a charm especially to a shy conversation starter like me. Shout to my math Mike K? Oh no I forgot your initial! Please let me know !!!
Great event as ever Vivek and the music was awesome. I wish I had more time to get my dance on.
Can’t wait for the next one !!!
Ps Will find out for u all my arm warmers supplier one day.

Thanks for Vivek for organizing this Anti-​Valentines Elite Event! Now I realized I have a special talent: Match Making!
I think I ended up matched up 3 different pairs of «Soul Mates»!
The cocktail was awesome. I think I know someone that drank like 7 rounds … and my +1 was hanging around the «buffet» table the whole night and was happy that I just left her alone… Thanks Augusta House for serving us all the food and drinks! Kudos for the more healthier food selections!
BTW, I found a couple of my own soul mates… thanks for taking photos with me… and what a HOT and SEXY photographer we have tonight!
It was nice talking to all the new and old Unilocalers alike!
WHEN is the NEXT one???

Oh Be Still My Achy Breaky Heart.
You can tell the world you never was my girl
You can burn my clothes when I’m gone
Or you can tell your friends just what a fool I’ve been
And laugh and joke about me on the phone
But don’t tell my heart, my achy breaky heart
I just don’t think it’d understand
And if you tell my heart, my achy breaky heart
He might blow up and kill this man
Another 3lite 3vent. another 3xcellent 3xperience.
I got to meet some newbies such as my food twin, «an egg», the dancer, my «if nothing ever works out for us soul mate» and fellow gov 3lites.
Then there were the regulars. the cheeky cheek pincher, the ayatollah of rock and Roma, the return of August at Augusta was apropros, the face dumpler, the lover, ‘stache the photographer, the 100 000 photos photographer, the Calgarians, the Brazilians, the girl with the gun, and the other hotties (so many to list. you know who you are).
SO what about the food and the drink? To be honest, I didn’t bring any pluses this time, and had fun just catching up with people.
So this ain’t the end — I saw you again today
Had to turn my heart away
You smiled like the
Sun — Kisses for everyone
And tales — it never fails!
Wouldn’t you, Barracuda?