On September 17, 2011, over 1,350 Portland Yelpers experienced the largest PDXYelp event to date at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for pleY On! Yelp’s 8-Bit Adventure. With 20 partners on site, food, drink, and access to OMSI’s Game On 2.0 exhibit, it was a night of adults-only nerdy fun at P-town’s perennial playground!
Mario’s princess may have been in another castle, but we know where the party was! On September 17, 2011, over 1,350 Portland Yelpers experienced the largest PDXYelp event to date at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry for pleY On! Yelp’s 8-Bit Adventure. With 20 partners on site, food, drink, and access to OMSI’s Game On 2.0 exhibit, it was a night of adults-only nerdy fun at P-town’s perennial playground!
Playing video games makes for hungry Yelpers. From pulled pork to foie gras to lamb sandwiches to salted ice cream with caramel, Portlanders enjoyed tasty bites by incredible local food sponsors including Thirst Wine Bar & Bistro, A Cena, Irving Street Kitchen, Aquariva, Davis Street Tavern, H50 Bistro, NEPO 42, Bunk Bar, Uptown Billiards, Salt & Straw, KIND Snacks and PopChips! These partners stepped up and served a ravenous crowd with loads of high-end food.
While sampling scrumptious savories, party-goers powered-up with tastes from local wineries Z’ivo, Terra Vina, Utopia Vineyards and Enso Winery. Those in the mood for sudsy libations had as much as they could drink from Widmer Brothers Brewing with their Falconer’s IPA and OKTO Octoberfest beers. And of course it wouldn’t be a Yelp event without some fantastic cocktails made with Pucker flavored vodkas, Sauza Blue 100% Agave Tequila and Jim Beam Devil’s Cut 90-Proof Bourbon. While the Pac-Man bar with its fruity punches (including editor’s favorite Donkey Kong Punch) was a sure hit, the bourbon and tequila bar offered hand-shaken cocktails for the discerning palate. All of these luscious libations were expertly blended by the pros from Oregon Bartender’s Guild – the dapper folks in their daring green Portland Cocktail Week t-shirts. Oh, and parched lips were never so quenched as they were here by Dry Soda, Hot Lips Soda and Honest Tea!
But it wasn’t just all about the food. Oh no. Yelpers enjoyed access to many OMSI exhibits including Narnia, Life Sciences, Turbine Hall and of course the showcase exhibit – Game On 2.0 (which took Kris J “back to a simpler time when real men were plumbers and eating green magic mushrooms added to your life.”) DJ’s Saltfeend and Atom13 kept those trunks moving on the dance floor with their stylings on the wheels of steel. Meanwhile, those stuck in line were treated to some strummin’ tunes by Andy Kuss from Kinder Bison. And yelpers decked out in their video game best (like Warrio, Mario, Star-fox, Zelda, Asteroids, Tetris, King Hippo and Dr. Mario, to name a few) got their photos snapped at the Captured! Photography booth, the PopChips booth, and by roving paprazzi, Izzy! Those best dressed in the crowd also won amazing prizes from Salty’s On The Columbia, NEPO 42, Thirst Wine Bar and Ex-Libris Anonymous. It definitely pays to show off your costume prowess at Yelp events!
Many like Melvin T have consider this “the best Yelp Event ever put together,” and it definitely would not have been so without the help of many people including Melony, Mark and the incredible staff at OMSI; Dave, Jabriel and the studs (and studettes) from the OBG; Mindy and Widmer Brothers; Greg, Rick and Cody from Beam Global Spirits; our incredible wine and food partners; Ed and Adam (DJ’s extrordinaire); The hard work of Matt D and his minions, Crystal H, Danny W, Katy H and everyone that helped out; and of course the Portland Yelp Community, without whom none of this would have been possible.
This truly was an event for the ages, and you really don’t have to take my word for it. Check out the reviews and photos!
Until next time, see you on Level 1-2.
1-Up’s all around:
–Don B.
