Last night, my coworker sent me an invite for the annual DUMBO Holiday Party. Free to join! It sounded like a good thing - the only thing they were asking for was a toy donation for a Christmas gift drive. Easy enough, seeing that we had some unwanted lying around the house that would work for this. So we packed our toys and made are way to the event.
And what a place! Located at St. Ann's Wearhouse right next to Manhattan Bridge, the event had a lot more in store than I originally envisioned. We first walked in to open area for dancing, complete with a 5-piece band known as The Lone Sharks in the back jammin' Texas-style rhythm 'n twang Christmas tunes. People were really getting down to it! In between sets, a DJ kept the mood going with some good "schoolhouse" type music. Well played!
A separate back area to the left held two gigantic tables lined with holiday foods, from exotic veggie dishes to chips and dips to fully-carved Turkeys. The back had the ultimate dessert offerings: two chocolate fountains (white and milk), and guests could select goodies like fruits and cookies to dip under the waterfall.
To the right of the stage was the bar: free beer and wine, and lots of it. All we had to do was walk up and take it, help youself, have fun! The bar came complete with large bowls of spicy almonds and festive matchbooks.
Not long after we arrived, the event organizers started calling out numbers for the raffle. Reiko and I each received tickets for our toy donations. There were quite a few items - maybe about 20 in all - and each was no small gift: $100 gift cards, custom lamps, VIP access to polo matches in Long Island, etc. We came damn close to winning a couple of times, but alas didn't win anything. Next time!
The best part, was that it was all free. Completely sponsored event! I guess I've never been to anything quite like this, where it was just show up, eat what you want, drink what you want, and - shit! - go nuts at someone-else-you'll-likely-never-know's expense. Finally, the higher price of living in New York had shown its face.
Need to start attending more of these kind of events!
Oh, and for the record: DUMBO stands for: Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. It's one of the highly-gentrified, high-society areas of Brooklyn that prides itself on its close proximity and impressive views of Manhattan.
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