I was disappointed by the turnout for the cocktail social at Playbar last night, as only about half a dozen of us came out. This was partly my fault because I forgot to email the owner info about Ron Paul to forward to his email list with an announcement of the event, and did not promote the event enough myself. But we did raise $30, our rounded-up 15% share of a little under $200 in total drink sales from 6-10pm, including from the other five to ten folks or so at the bar who were not there because of the campaign. I received the money in cash, so will be mailing a $30 check to the Ron Paul campaign. While it would have been nice to raise more, some money is always better than none!
On the upside, owner Mike Quan and his colleague Aaron are willing to do this again -- in fact they stressed to me that they expected us to have a bigger production, decorating the space with balloons and such, and having literature to tell people about Ron Paul. I was not aware of their expectations, but was glad to hear they are willing to have us do something again that is bigger and more involved. We scheduled the next social for Wednesday, October 3, to give us some advance time to get the word out, and to plan to decorate the bar and anything else we may wish to do that evening.
Yesterday I had a chance to talk with Jeanette Doney of the Mendocino Ron Paul Meetup, and she suggested showing videos, which they successfully did for a social. The Playbar does have a decent-sized ceiling-mounted TV in the bar (which is very classy-looking, by the way). They also have a larger screen on the wall which can be used to project video. If they are amenable, I think we should try to have Ron Paul video stuff playing on both screens during the cocktail social, at a volume low enough to allow conversation but high enough for someone listening intently to be able to catch most of it. Has anyone watched the Ron Paul campaign highlights DVD and know how long this is and whether it would be good to show at an event like this? I'm hoping it includes some of the great YouTube videos out there, or if not, that someone will be able to get some of these on DVD for us to show.
I also came up with an idea that made the time pass quickly and worked well to raise money within a small group, which I'd like to try to repeat next time on a larger scale with additional games. I brought a game called Abalone (see http://www.boardgamesexpress.com/prodinfo.asp?number=7323), and challenged the other Ron Paul attendees to play. I have an extra set of marbles so we were able to have three people playing at once. The deal was that I bought each of the other players a drink just for playing, since I have more experience at the game, but then anyone losing would have to buy a round for the whole group! A great thing about this game is that you can learn the rules in less than five minutes, yet it is a serious strategy game that can be quite challenging, as I'm sure those who lost to me will attest. 8)
Another game I have in mind to bring next time is Jenga (see http://www.mastersgames.com/cat/giant/giant-bricks.htm). This is a fun game for a bar (though I don't unfortunately own the giant version depicted on the website), because it involves physical skill at moving things very gently, something that tends to become more difficult the more you've been drinking!
If anyone has additional ideas for the next cocktail social, please let me know. And be sure to put Wednesday, October 3, from 6-10 p.m. on your calendar now, and encourage your friends to come hang out and drink with you that night whether they are Ron Paul supporters or not! Remember that the Ron Paul campaign will get 15% of all drink sales! If we can raise $30 with half a dozen people, we should be able to raise $300 with ten times that many, while enjoying a good time interacting with each other and having fun after all our hard volunteer work. Even if you don't drink, remember you can always buy non-alcoholic beverages at bars too.
Love & Liberty,
<<< starchild >>>
P.S. - Please forward this to other local Meetup groups and lists that you may be on.