It might have been the weekend, but one Friday night in Cincinnati, Yelpers went back to school … and, ah, the memories they created.
The Yelp Helps After School Special was unlike anything done in Cincinnati before. Walking through the double doors of the Clifton Cultural Arts Center, Yelpers experience three floors of entertainment and education, from performances, pampering rooms, photo booths, comfortable furniture, games, food, drinks and, of course, over 30 local charities, each with their own booth.
“What could be better than free beer, liquor, waffles, cupcakes, photobooths, salad in mason jars, BBQ, pizza, goetta, streetpops, and more? How about getting all that stuff while learning about amazing local nonprofits,” Steve A exclaimed.
Yelpers, in school themed costumes, explores the space ready to learn. As part of a month-long inative going on throughout Ohio, Yelp Helps educated people about local volunteer organizations. And educate they did, in some of the most creative ways possible:
Some of the volunteer organizations Christine M loved? “Caracole STD with an Easter egg game and One brand condoms put a smile on my face, Circle Tail for having cute dogs and doing something so helpful for folks with them. The Civic Garden Center for quizzing me about my plant knowledge. Crayons To Computersfor hooking teachers up with supplies. Keep Cincinnati Beautiful for the fun t's. And Stop Traffick Fashion for some uber cool duds. I had a great time.”
Other fantastic charities there included Bluegrass For Babies, Child Wellness Fun, Children's Law Center, The Children’s Home, Faces Without Places,Franciscan Haircuts From The Heart, Girls On The Run,Necco and StarShine Hospice. People made Cincy shine with Give Back Cincinnati, the Junior League, Power Inspires Progress of Venice On Vine, The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Women Helping Women and the YMCA. Paws-itive peeps said hi to Greyhound Adoption or thought globally and act locally with Bawa For Change, Bad Girl Ventures, Chicks & Chucks, National Kidney Foundation and Transitions. Phew! That’s a lot of good!
All this great education works up an appetite. “The food! I love food, which is why I joined Yelp in the first place. So I was really enthralled at the options here: Keystone buffalo blue mac & cheese (my personal fave!), Christian Moerlein, Whisky Bar, The Avenue Lounge and PLAY's drinks, Taste of Belgium, froyo from Yagööt, yummy Streetpops, and some AHHHmazing baked goods that I continue to dream about to this day,” Jessica K listed.
Who else was there for eats and drinks? How about Coffee Emporium, Table Top Brewing and vitaminwater. Then there were edibles from Andy's Mediterranean, Izzy's,Windmill Coffee, Remi J's, and Whole Foods. Outside, you found Glier’s, Quesadillas and PizzaBomba cooking up a storm, and for dessert, try treats from Artrageous Desserts, Bakerloo Cupcakes, Donna's Gourmet Cookies, and Sweet Petit.
Those then looking to sit for a second after all that found comfort in furniture from an amazing local company: “The seating from A Day To Remember was gorgeous. We kept walking into rooms and -surprise! – big, open couches overlooking the sunset on the city. So comfortable, and much needed from all the walking,” Paige M declared, taking a load off.
But wait, here comes your second wind! Yelpers ready for more were enterained by the amazing Enjoy The Arts cabaret on the main stage, featuring The Cincinnati Symphony, Ballet, The Bi-Okoto Cultural Institute, New Edgecliff Theater, Cincy Blues Society and Cincinnati Men's Chorus.
“There was some awesome entertainment in the auditorium. I LOVED the mens chorus! I hadn't planned on being there for three hours but I could have easily stayed for three more!” Rachel G sang. We’re right there with you.
That wasn’t even close to the end of the fun. Yelpers wanting to be pampered made their way to the second floor where they found Lighthouse Massage, Thrive Chiropractic,Premier Salon, Rollers & Rouge and Taylor Jameson Salon! DJ E added atmosphere as people walked in and The Never Setting Suns and The Young Professional's Choral Collective or kicked off the event with some great music. And The American Cornhole Organization made sure everyone got their gym required credit.
Also, thanks to Shutterbooth and GLESN, we had two amazing photo booths – the former with their legendary black box with print out photos and the later creating high school prom-esq photos with great costumes! Which worked well with the theme of the night.
“I must say there were quite a few attendees that made the most of the theme: the Prom King and Queen, the Preppies in Blazers, and lots of girls in school girl uniforms – simply sreat! Oh yeah, and then there were the Cincinnati Rollergirls. Every school has to have it's "Bad Girls", now don't they?” They so do, Greg S. They so do.
And throughout the night, VesCo Cleaning cleaning kept the event looking shiny and new … even when the kids were making messes."
Jess P said it best: “Every time Alex and Cindy plan an event, I always think that there is no way they could top it and then they do. This was an amazing event highlighting all sorts of wonderful ways to get involved in the Cincinnati community and also put the spotlight on some other great local businesses and restaurants”
But don’t just take our word on the night’s awesomeness, you can read all the reviews right here. You can also check out the other awesome pics by photographers extraordinaire Anna Penny of Anamedia and Paige Pederzani of Luxperdiem on the Official Yelp Flickr page! (Video above by Nathan Penny of Anamedia.)
Too cool for school? I don’t think so.
Alex S, Yelp Community Manager
