Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Parties, Feb 23-25, 2007

Our first-ever Pre-Oscars Ball was a lot of fun, with a big crowd, Friday night, Feb 23. The San Mateo Marriott rolled out a 50 foot red carpet for us, and many who attended were all decked out! Alas, the carpet started bunching up and people were tripping, so we had to remove it. Bummer! Everyone enjoyed predicting who would win the Oscars on Sunday. Here are the winners: Susan Aptekar (6 correct picks) and four others with 5 correct picks: Dale Ironson, Jane McAteer, Linda Preston, and Jack Lin. All won free copies of my book, You CAN Hurry Love. Congrats!

The rain intruded on our Lock & Key & Dance Saturday night at the Parc 55 Hotel in SF. We got a good turnout anyway.

We lucked out on Sunday afternoon, as we enjoyed the short window of rain-free weather, at our Wine Tasting Party in Livermore. What a crowd! Didn't know you could fit so many people in the Barrel Room of Crooked Vine Winery. Our next Wine Tasting Party is on Thursday, March 8, in Los Gatos, including live dance music by one of our favorite bands, The Joint Chiefs.

Coming up we have an Asian/Non-Asian Singles Mixer, with live music by The Shitones, at Park Chalet Restaurant in SF on Thursday, Feb 1st; our first-ever Men in Black Party Saturday, March 3 at Tarragon Restaurant in Sunnyvale; and our first-ever party in East Contra Costa County at Humphreys on the Delta on Tuesday, March 6. More details at www.ThePartyHotline.com.

See you at the parties!

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Parties, Feb 13-17, 2007

It was a busy week, as we finished up our eight Meet Your Valentine Parties with two parties mid-week, followed by two parties over the weekend.

Our Pre-Valentines Art & Wine Tasting Party on Feb 13 at Artists Alley in SF went well. Excellent turnout for a Tuesday night, with a good male-female ratio. On V-Day, we had a terrific party at the Flamingo in Santa Rosa! Very enthusiastic crowd, who thoroughly enjoyed the mixer game, karaoke, and dancing.

All of our past Young Single Professionals parties had been on the Peninsula or South Bay. So we were a little worried about trying one in SF. Our fears were groundless. What a terrific turnout at The Cellar in San Francisco on Feb 16! We hope to do another one there soon. Our next YSP party returns to the Silicon Valley on March 23.

We were also worried that we had been doing too many Lock & Key parties, particularly in Contra Costa County, but Saturday's Lock & Key at the Crowne Plaza in Concord was our best ever! The energy level in the room was the highest we've had, and the room was packed! Our next Lock & Key & Dance will be this coming Saturday, Feb 24, at a new location for us, the Parc 55 Hotel in their Ballroom in Downtown SF.

If you're not planning on flying down to Hollywood this coming weekend for the Academy Awards parties, don't despair. We will roll out the RED CARPET for you at the San Mateo Marriott at our Pre-Oscars Ball on Friday, Feb 23. Please dress up for the lovely Crystal Springs Ballroom and bring your crystal ball so you can predict who will win the major oscars and possibly win a prize!

On Sunday, Feb 25 we do our first-ever party in the Livermore Valley, at the Crooked Vine Winery. Only $10 at the door includes tasting their great wines, plus hors d'oeuvres to cleanse the palate between tastings.

More details about all of our upcoming parties at www.ThePartyHotline.com. Hope to see you at the parties!

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Parties, Feb 8-10, 2007

Always scary to throw parties during the rainy season. So much time and expense goes into each party, only to see everything go down the drain with poor attendance. Well, we survived the deluge. It rained heavily all three nights, but all went well.

We started out on Thursday, Feb 8, at Gaylord's Restaurant in Sausalito. While the attendance was obviously much lower than it would have been on a clear night, it was still fairly crowded. The food was terrific, lots of it, and delicious. Thank you, Gaylord's. Too bad a couple of idiots left their cars in the middle of the parking lot and took their keys with them, so the valet couldn't move them. It took a long time to track them down. Meanwhile, people are parking a block away and trying to get through the severe downpour. Oh well, at least everyone seemed to enjoy the party.

Friday was my birthday, and also that of my wife, Debby. That's right, we both were born on Feb 9th--we met at one of my singles parties eight years ago. So while we were celebrating our birthday, Barbara Millin of Singles Supper Club was hosting our Valentine Dance Gala in Mt View. Tremendous turnout, in spite of the weather. Barbara reports that everyone enjoyed the delicious appetizers at Michael's Restaurant, and the great dance music of Miguel and Linda from Startracks DJ.

We capped off the weekend with a big crowd, again in heavy rain, at our East Bay Singles Convention on Saturday at the Hilton. I delivered the Keynote Address, "Finding Love in 2007," and guaranteed everyone would find love in 2007 or receive a 100% refund. Hopefully I won't get a flurry of calls and emails on New Year's Eve, asking for their money back! There was a catch, of course. They have to follow at least half of my Top 10 Tips for Finding Love, otherwise no refund. The keynote was well-received, and set the tone for a great dance party, featuring, as always the wonderful music of DJ HickeyB! of Choice Music.

I'm so glad that people didn't let the weather spoil their Valentine weekend. Thanks to all of you who braved the elements!

We have our last two Meet Your Valentine parties coming up early in the week. Tuesday, Feb 13, we are hosting an Art & Wine Tasting Party at The Artists Alley in San Francisco. Then on Wednesday, V-day itself, we are hosting a Singles Mixer/Karaoke/Dance at the Flamingo Resort Hotel in Santa Rosa. Should be quite a night!

Next weekend kicks off with a Young Single Professionals Party, our first-ever in San Francisco, Friday night at The Cellar. Then on Saturday we host a Lock & Key and Dance at the Crowne Plaza in Concord, a new location for us. More details at www.ThePartyHotline.com. Hope you can make at least one of the parties this coming week!

Sunday, February 04, 2007

Parties, Feb 1-3

We kicked off this year's seven Meet Your Valentine parties with two fun events in San Francisco and Fremont. The SF party on Feb 1st attracted a BIG crowd, and they thoroughly enjoyed dancing to the live music of The Shitones, who mainly played classic hits from the past. I recognized all of their songs. The food was delicious at Park Chalet Restaurant. Surprisingly, very few of our singles seemed to participate in our Mixer Game. I guess they didn't need the game to meet new friends. Usually people are very shy and afraid of strangers, so they need some kind of icebreaker. Not this crowd.

Our Fremont party on Saturday, Feb 3, was smaller, but still very well-attended (especially for a small city like Fremont). In contrast to the SF party, people were very excited about the Mixer Game. One guy even mentioned how AGRESSIVE the women were in approaching him, in their attempts to win the game! Very surprising, since, as noted above, most singles are quite shy at parties. Massimo's Restaurant put out a massive amount of appetizers. People certainly could have skipped dinner that night and not gone home hungry!

Some cooks at our parties are more generous with appetizers than others, so the safest policy is to eat dinner before coming to one of our events, unless it specifically says "dinner buffet" or "heavy appetizers." Otherwise, you're taking your chances.

This coming week features three more Meet Your Valentine Parties. On Thursday, Feb 8, we do our first-ever party at Gaylord's, a very nice Indian restaurant, formerly known as Sally Stanford's Valhalla. Sally was the notorious madam who eventually was elected Mayor of Sausalito! This is a Lock & Key Mixer (women get locks; men get keys) for two hours, with complimentary appetizers first hour. Please note that this is NOT a dance party.

On Friday, Feb 9, we hold our annual Valentine's Gala Dance, this time at Michael's Restaurant Ballroom at Shoreline Park in Mt View. Feb 9 is my birthday (and also that of my wife Debby). That's right, we were both born on the same month and day (different years)! We met at one of my singles parties 8-1/2 years ago. Barbara Millin of Singles Supper Club will be running this party, while Debby and I celebrate our birthday privately. Barbara tells me it is a lovely venue, overlooking the Bay. Miguel Guidos, owner of Startracks, will be our DJ. He is very popular with our singles.

Our largest party of the year in the East Bay is our annual East Bay Singles Convention, Saturday, Feb 10, at the Hilton Garden Hotel Convention Center in Emeryville (conveniently located just off Hwy 80, near the Bay Bridge). This year we are calling it the Meet Your Valentine Convention. I will be delivering an entertaining Keynote Address, "Finding Love in 2007," based on a talk I have given to many thousands of singles throughout the major cities of the USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. I am making a guarantee at the convention that no one else makes: You will find love in 2007 or receive a 100% refund! There's a catch, however. You have to follow at least half of my Top 10 List of the Best Ways to Find Love. A Dance Party follows my keynote, featuring the great music of DJ Kurt Montgomery (better-known as HickeyB!), owner of Choice Music. Also very popular with our singles.

Hope to see you at the parties!