Last Friday night, the hottest place to be in the Triangle was at Legends — and nearly 200 hip and happenin' yelpers streamed in for our inaugural Open Party, an evening of non-stop entertainment!
As Stuart A sums up, "My first NC Yelp party was all sorts of superlative. The back rooms and courtyard of Legends were the perfect setting, with people mingling, getting their faces painted, stuffing themselves with food from some of the best restaurants in town, imbibing free alcoholic libations, and flavor tripping their tastebuds off."
Guests saddled up to the indoor and outdoor bars for complimentary cocktails courtesy of Maker's Mark and Piedmont Distillers. And the New Belgium biergarten on the patio hooked us up with hops aplenty: 1554, Fat Tire, Ranger IPA, and Hoptober!
Folks took advantage of the amazing fall weather and Legends' huge, festively lit patio. Gavin Munoff kept everyone's toes tapping — and even a few folks dancing — to the tune of his upbeat saxophone songs. And vitaminwater kept us hydrated with a variety of vitamin-packed flavors!
Inside, girls (and a few guys!) lined up for a spot in the Gaga Glam Lounge where Paint Savvy worked their dramatic makeup magic. And people piled their plates with bites from a few of Raleigh's most revered restaurants. Tripp W raves, "Sono spoiled us with their delicious sushi and sashimi. Seriously, free sushi?!? Thought I had died and gone to heaven. Just when I thought it couldn't get better, Market served a bread pudding that blew my mind." Jane Y just can't get over the "seriously insane" amount of food: "Bacon-wrapped scallops and crabcakes from The Oxford?!?! Of course I stayed classy and didn't gorge… I just went back for 5 different servings pretending it was my first."
After filling up on food, yelpers mosied up to the mberry table for tastebud transformation. Michael E marvels, "The flavor tripping was an insane experience. It confuses your taste buds while enhancing different facets of your flavor profile." Paige T agrees, "Being able to eat a lemon and not wince was kind of crazy!"
Legends' Spotlight Theater hosted two shows. A hyserical round of Match Game featuring Slim Jim-wielding Randy Savage, Sarah Palin, Diane Rehm, and Charles Nelson Reilly — characters from DSI Comedy Theater — had the audience in stitches, especially when contestants were posed the question: "If you want Yelp on your phone, there's an app for that. If you want Yelp in your bedroom, there's a blank for that." Both contestants were winners, and received a gift certificate for DSI's Improv 101 Class!
No one wanted the night to end, but at least it ended with a bang. Legends housecast treated us to an amazing drag show with a flawless Reba McEntyre impersonation and oh-so-much more! Psalm S yelps, "This was my first drag show and it was awesome! The songs, the outfits, the moves, the crowd, the dolla-dolla bills, y'all. I was screaming and laughing and having a general hoot of a good time."
As if all that action weren't enough, do-good yelpers contributed to the amazing Coalition to Unchain Dogs, our nonprofit partner. The raffle winners are below! Guests left with yelpy schwag bags, full of Yelp goodies as well as 20%-off coupons to Dapper and VIP passes to new Raleigh hot spot, Trim.
And we've got one more goodie for ya: purchase mberry's magic berry tabs at 25% off and free shipping (enter yelp as the promo code).
A HUGE thanks goes out to all the sponsors, but especially to our hosts at Legends: Brigner, Jeremy, Dick, and Drew, who kept the event so smooth, the drinks stiff, and always had a smile on! And snaps also for Kelly S of Austin and Nicole W of Charlotte for keeping everything organized and awesome!
Read the reviews from yelpers new and old, and see all the action with more pics from the talented Durban Rhame Photography and from our very own camera-toting comrade Phil G.
Until next time — October 24 in Durham; RSVP soon! — SYOY!
Christina G
Raffle Winners:
#316403 Andrew W wins a dozen cupcakes (up to $30 value) from Karma Foods
#316443 Psalm S wins a $50 gift card to Cameron's
#316412 S Silver wins an mberry flavor-tripping party pack
#316407 Ann P wins a DSI Comedy Theater Improv 101 Class
I'll be emailing you lucky ducks shortly!
