The Opening Day of baseball is a big deal in Cincinnati. A big deal.
The Reds are the country's first professional baseball team, we have the only Opening Day parade in the country and Cincinnatians treat it like a holiday: they take it off from work, start drinking early in the morning and make the whole day into a giant celebration of Cincinnati history and sports.
And Yelp got to play a part this year with our Opening Day After-Party celebration!
“Opening Day was a 'W' for the Redlegs and this event was a 'W' for all the Yelpers and Plus Ones in attendance!” Scott M exclaimed. “I love how we always have a unique 'touch' to every event. I'm shooting for carousel rides at the next one."
Teaming up with the great VenueAgent, Yelpers came together at Leapin Lizzard Gallery, a former church turned event space, to eat amazing food, drink fantastic cocktails, and be entertained throughout the night.
The funky atmosphere of Leapin Lizzard was the perfect spot to hold a celebration. Chandeliers, bright colored painted on the walls and on the furniture, funky artwork on the walls and statues hanging from the ceiling.
“An an old church it has a good bit of charm. The art – mannequin parts, composite, mixed media art, and the lights that accented the bright and cheery walls – were pretty mesmerizing for me. I'd love to throw a party here; it's a great place!” Christine M told us.
Of course, any party Is defined by its food and the legendary Benson's Catering went all out. A carving station with different meats, cucumber tuna poke, that shrimp, two pasta salads, a cucumber salad, cheese trays, platters of homemade sushi and so much more. This of course didn’t include the dessert table, which included raspberry cream tart, mini crème brulee, chocolate covered strawberries and so much more.
To wash it all down, VenueAgent provided an open bar with bartenders that knew exactly what they were doing. “A gem of a venue, more food than I could stuff in my face, and enough booze to get my weekend started early. Home Run!” Adolfo N cheered.
The fun didn't stop with the eats and drinks. Yelpers their caricature drawn by the great John Sebastian (who, for the first time in his career, drew a 18-person caricature filled with Yelpers!) And rounding it all out was a terrific DJ from Maize Music who spun from up in the rafters.
And of course, the photo booth from Digital Hype Group which inspired all kinds of fun Opening Day Shenanigans. See all the pics here.
On Opening Day, the reds took home a win. Yet, we think it was even more of a win for Cincinnati Yelpers. “Wow. So this was perhaps one of the best Yelp events ever. I loved the food, the drinks, the DJ, the photo booth, the caricature artist, and all the people that showed up to celebrate Opening Day,” John B declared.
But don’t just take our word on the grandeur of it all, you can read all the reviews right here. You can also check out the other awesome pics by photographer extraordinaire Anamedia on the Official Yelp Flickr page.
Till next time. Go Reds!
Alex S, Cincy Community Manager
