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I like Saturday better as well, but just to float an option, how would people feel about Sunday? It can be easier to take over a venue on a Sunday. For example, one bar I can think of that could accommodate us is normally closed on Sundays, but would probably be more than happy to open for a private event if they knew there'd be at least 20 or 30 paying customers.
posted by dersins at 7:26 PM on May 5, 2009

Yeah, sunday would be fine with me too. dersins, you want to try contacting that bar to see if a private party on sunday is an option? I imagine a group of 20-30 could easily have a $500 tab at the end of the night.
posted by mathowie at 7:55 PM on May 5, 2009

I don't know about that bar, but when I've talked to places about reserving a space, they are more willing to do so if you offer an up front deposit, so no matter what the actual turn out is, they break even. If the real tab is over the deposit, you get the whole amount back, and if it isn't, they just return deposit - difference.
posted by mrzarquon at 8:03 PM on May 5, 2009

We are so there. Me and gingerbeer, that is.
posted by rtha at 8:48 PM on May 5, 2009

I'm probably coming down from Seattle and would be interested in carpooling if there are any others. Mr. Z?
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:03 PM on May 5, 2009

It may be a possibility, but I may be living in LA* at that time, so I can't make promises.

The only thing I can promise is I will be arriving in portland sometime on 17th from mumblety and probably leaving to return to mumblety the morning of the 20th. And on the 18th I'll be at a wedding in Eugene.

*see this saturday's meetup thread
posted by mrzarquon at 9:08 PM on May 5, 2009

Oh yeah, Saturday: waaay better.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:08 PM on May 5, 2009

I ought to be able to make any of those days, unless by some miracle I get a job that requires me to move away from Portland between now and then. I support the idea of taking over a venue on a Sunday.
posted by Caduceus at 9:21 PM on May 5, 2009

Oh yeah, Saturday: waaay better.

Didn't mean to say Saturday was better because you couldn't be there, mr. z. Just that Saturday works better with traveling down.

And also, LA, mrzarquon? WTF? Nah, congrats on the new job.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:25 PM on May 5, 2009

Actually anytime Sunday works for me, too. Ok, I've posted 4 times in a thread for a meetup I'm not positive I can go to, I'll shut up now.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:26 PM on May 5, 2009

Oh yeah, if a bar needs a $500 deposit or anything upfront, I can totally swing that.
posted by mathowie at 9:38 PM on May 5, 2009

Any chance of this being at an all ages location? If it's a big hassle, don't worry about it, but I would totally come if I'm allowed in.
posted by Corduroy at 9:41 PM on May 5, 2009

I'll talk to the folks at Tiga and see if they'll go for it. I would imagine they will. I'll drop by later tonight, but I don't know if the owner will be there. I may not be able to get an answer until Thursday or so. Any other suggestions are totally welcome.
posted by dersins at 10:29 PM on May 5, 2009

> Any chance of this being at an all ages location?

I don't know OR state liquor laws, but there is a possibility that if this is a private event hosted by the bar (as in only metafilter members and guests could enter the premises), different statutes would apply, so the bar could allow underage patrons, probably if there was a clearly designated area and something like stamps to identify of age patrons.

Since we have two months or so to figure this out, and we are already going down the path of reserving a space, we might as well see what we can get for it, especially if it means we can have more mefites present.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:54 PM on May 5, 2009

So I just got back from Tiga, and one of the owners was there. She told me that, although we'd need to work out the details, they're at least theoretically down with opening for a private event on a Sunday. We'd need to figure out whether what time we'd want them to open, how late we'd want to be there, and whether we'd want the kitchen to be open. Also, FYI, they have turntables, a mixer and a PA if anyone's interested in DJ-ing (not it!).

If the consensus is that Saturday is preferable to Sunday, however, I had another thought-- although I think McMenanamin's beer is terrible and their food mediocre, the Kennedy School is a pretty neat space, and they have private "banquet" rooms in some of the old classrooms. I can investigate further if people are interested.
posted by dersins at 11:45 PM on May 5, 2009

Hey, Slarty, I'm in for that carpool. I was totally thinking about New Orleans but this is closer AND will have mods!
posted by jacalata at 12:19 AM on May 6, 2009

Yay! Count me in! Looks like I'll be able to attend any of those days. And I think the idea of setting up a private event on a Sunday (or whatever day) is excellent.
posted by velvet winter at 1:11 AM on May 6, 2009

I'd consider coming down too (and carpooling). Especially if there's no celebration in Seattle.
posted by grouse at 7:48 AM on May 6, 2009

Tiga's a great little bar. Good vibe, good drinks.
posted by waxpancake at 8:03 AM on May 6, 2009

Otis24 and I are looking into a way to get there. Sunday could work. Saturday too. Friday, not so much.

Matt, you are going to have waaay more than 30 people. I'd bet on it.
posted by iamkimiam at 8:38 AM on May 6, 2009

Another vote for Saturday. With the caveat that it's been years since I've made it to a meet-up (cmonkey and specklet still lived here), and we just had twins, so the likelyhood of me actually making it are low... 10 years though.

Also: Tiga seems smallish for this purpose (but totally awesome), and the last time I remember us meeting up at Kennedy School lots of people got lost so if we do go somewhere in the McMenamins Empire we should probably be a bit more specific like "Kennedy School in the Boiler Room."
posted by togdon at 9:16 AM on May 6, 2009

Seconding Corduroy's concern - I'm out if it's not all ages.

My understanding of Oregon booze laws tells me an establishment needs to be either a restaurant (with bar) or only serve beer (no hard liquor) to allow minors. Perhaps a private party room at a restaurant would work?
posted by anarcation at 9:59 AM on May 6, 2009

Tiga seems smallish for this purpose

For what it's worth, they have inside seats for 30- 40 people, and outdoor seats for maybe 12 - 16 more. I'm not wedded to Tiga, though, and if people have other suggestions, I'm happy to look into them.

and the last time I remember us meeting up at Kennedy School lots of people got lost

Yeah, I figure if we do Kennedy School we'd book one of the private "banquet rooms" as a sort of home base, so we'd be meeting up in the Matha Jordan room or Mina Parsons room. I'll call them today and find out what the details / requirements are for booking one of those spaces.
posted by dersins at 10:29 AM on May 6, 2009

I've never seen "21 and older only" signs at any McMenimans, so having something there might cover the all-ages option for us. They're mostly a restaurant, so I'm betting we could legally have under-21 people there among the beer (I think).
posted by mathowie at 10:43 AM on May 6, 2009

Just got off the phone with the Kennedy School. The only room they have available on Saturday 18 July is the "Library" room, which is pretty cool, but has a maximum capacity of 20 people-- which may be a bit small for our purposes.

They're wide open on Sunday 19 July, though. Both classroom spaces are available; each one has a 40-person capacity, and the space rents for free based on a minimum food and beverage purchase of $400, which is pretty reasonable.
posted by dersins at 10:52 AM on May 6, 2009

Is this the NW default?
posted by Artw at 11:18 AM on May 6, 2009

IT'S THE NW AWESOME IS WHAT IT IS GET WITH THE PROGRAM ARTW
posted by dersins at 11:21 AM on May 6, 2009

That looks like a very cool place.

I wonder...would they give a break on room rates if a block of rooms was reserved? Because some of us are coming from out of town...
posted by rtha at 11:34 AM on May 6, 2009

Also, dersins, thanks so much for organizing!
posted by rtha at 11:36 AM on May 6, 2009

Sorry, to clarify, Tiga seems smallish for these purposes if they have other customers around. I would guess that people may come out of the woodwork for this one. Also my mindset is still in rain-mode, so I discounted their outside seating. I forget that it gets sunny here sometimes in July and August. Sometimes.

Kennedy School may kill the underage bird too. My company has had multiple events at their venues, including at Kennedy School, with children present. I believe that we booked rooms for those who knew they were going to be too drunk to drive in addition to the meeting space itself, so if we go that route it may be worth trying to get both packaged together (or at the very least take a poll here of how many rooms to try to get the McMenamins folks to reserve in a block for a bit).
posted by togdon at 12:15 PM on May 6, 2009

So should we go for Sunday 19 July at the Kennedy School?
posted by dersins at 12:26 PM on May 6, 2009

The Kennedy School might be convenient for any out-of-towners (I count 4 --maybe 5 ArtW? -- from Seattle alone) since it is also a (reasonably priced as I recall) hotel. If we book an event and set aside rooms, will they give us a discount?

I do also recall they have a hot tub.

I second that the food and beer are pretty mediocre, but whatever.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:45 PM on May 6, 2009

I'm for sunday, as it means I can make it.

The food and drink isn't the best, but we are getting together for the mefi love right?
posted by mrzarquon at 12:48 PM on May 6, 2009

I figure we're there to drink the beer, not to be impressed by it. Big enough, private room, decent location, accommodations nearby, and potentially minors-okay is a pretty decent set of attributes if we can swing it, yeah.
posted by cortex at 12:48 PM on May 6, 2009

Also, as one of the later possible meetups, we will already have a benchmark from the prior nights of what our goal is to beat for the highest tab.

(I was thinking, since the Kennedy School has a $400 minimum, could we setup a projector with a little countdown widget in the corner that shows how much more we have to drink?)
posted by mrzarquon at 12:50 PM on May 6, 2009

Well, they do have audio visual equipment available (probably for a fee, of course...)
posted by dersins at 12:56 PM on May 6, 2009

Fee, schmee. I've got a projector I can bring to the meetup if we need to blast something on the wall.

And I have a feeling we'll be able to hit that $400 minimum without any difficulties, regardless. Heh.
posted by cortex at 1:02 PM on May 6, 2009

God, this is going to be fucking epic.
posted by nonmerci at 1:37 PM on May 6, 2009

Kennedy School and Tiga both sound delightful to me. Since I'm within a long stumble of either place (downhill going home!) I am fine either way.

And if people get really annoyed at the beer at Kennedy School, it is almost kitty corner from Concordia Ale House which has one of the better tap selections in Portland, so a quick "good beer" refreshment break can be had as needed.
posted by afflatus at 1:39 PM on May 6, 2009

I'd also like to say that the Kennedy School, while charming, seems like a fairly whack choice since McMenamin's beer does indeed suck, and it'd be nice to be somewhere with a decent microbrew sampling...Tiga seems decent and more "Portland", though I agree it may be too small.
posted by nonmerci at 1:47 PM on May 6, 2009

Also, I can do Sunday, but that would involve being hung-over at work. So my vote's on Friday or Saturday in a non-McMenamin's establishment.
posted by nonmerci at 2:09 PM on May 6, 2009

As much as I would love to be at a meetup where I could just stumble upstairs to my room, is the beer at this proposed place really, truly ungood? Because a) in a place like Portland, that should be a crime, or at least a civil violation and b) how are we supposed to beat the bar tabs of other meetups if no one drinks the terrible beer?
posted by rtha at 2:26 PM on May 6, 2009

afflatus brings up a good point with the nod to Concordia Ale House which has good beer (great beer) but terrible atmosphere (I still miss the Etc.). It's not more than a five minute walk from Kennedy School. I really do think Kennedy School would be good for the under 21ers and the out of towners as much as I don't really feel like giving more $$$ to the McMenamins Empire.

Also, thanks to dersins for putting up with us, and organizing, etc.
posted by togdon at 2:38 PM on May 6, 2009

rtha the beer is better than we're making it out to be, it's just that in Portland we can be picky. If we were in Boston, as an example that I feel like I can back up, it'd be best fucking beer that anyone had ever had ever.
posted by togdon at 2:39 PM on May 6, 2009

McMenamin's is a palatable beer, it is however, not the best selection of beers in the region (note: this is also skewed by the fact that Portland has such awesome beer). The food is ok, burgers, wings, etc. Nothing mind blowing, no chicken fried bacon. I'm not married to the idea of McMenamins, but it does offer a lot of options.

I think for our numbers, having a private space will be a big priority, something so we can all mingle and hang out, and play silly board games if need be. At one meetup when I was in Portland, I spent the entire time at the other end of a giant table, so I got to see mathowie, but never actually talk to him.

As for hangovers, stock up on some B1 and Cysteine before, during and after the evening.
posted by mrzarquon at 2:42 PM on May 6, 2009

Before we completely settle on the Kennedy School, I'll raise my voice one last time in favor of Tiga. As I mentioned earlier, they're normally closed on Sundays, but I spoke to one of the owners last night and they would be willing to open for a private event, which is something they've done in the past). The space isn't huge, but holds at least 30 - 40 people comfortably indoors, more with standing room, and another 15 or so at the tables outside. They generally have a rotating selection of 4 different craft brews on tap (it'll be summer, so with any luck they'd have the superb Double Mountain Kolsch), and maybe another dozen or so different bottles which range from PBR and Iron City up through various fancy-pants Belgian options. They have pretty good, affordable food, and a setup for DJs.

(Also, they're super nice people, and three blocks from my house-- OMG conclict of interest!).

I think the logistics might be easier than Kennedy School, as well, since people can more easily run separate tabs, etc. once the "house money" runs out.

Also, as long as underage people don't try to get drinks, they probably won't care much.

This would restrict us to Sunday, but that would be the case for the Kennedy School as well, given the fact that the appropriate rooms at the KS are unavailable Friday or Saturday. If any Saturday partisans would like to chime in with additional options, I'd be happy to investigate, but frankly there aren't any I can think of that would be willing to give up their regular Saturday business for us, no matter how big our group is-- most bars in town get pretty packed on Saturday.
posted by dersins at 3:06 PM on May 6, 2009

Well, that's good to hear about the beer. I'm relieved to learn that Portlanders aren't letting a Terrible Beer wreak havoc on the city.
posted by rtha at 3:10 PM on May 6, 2009

I'm for Tiga if you think we can get underage folks in. It would be a private party (outside of business hours, you would have to have an invitation / name on a list to enter) so it should be feasible.

Also, I wonder if they would let us supply our own booze, if folks wanted to put in a collection for a specific beer to be on top.

McMenamin's is always tempting because it is one stop shopping.
posted by mrzarquon at 3:20 PM on May 6, 2009

Throwing this against the wall in case it sticks: East Burn. Has a pretty good and diverse beer selection and apparently has a private room of some sort. Dunno if/when they allow minors.

Off-topic beer rantery: With McMenamins beer quality (outside of the McStandards at least) can vary wildly depending on where you're getting it. For the most part each pub either has a brewery on-site or is the sister pub to a brewing pub that it gets all of its beer from. There are a few exceptions to this, but generally there is this brewpub/sister pub combo throughout the whole empire. McBrewers can scrape by brewing Ruby and crappy originals day in and day out with no ill effects. However, sometimes and in some places more talented brewers are at the helm and the results can be surprisingly good. YMMV since turnover is somewhat frequent.
posted by turbodog at 3:26 PM on May 6, 2009

Ooh, I don't hate Eastburn! They have skeeball and slot cars in the downstairs bar! I'll call them re: private events and report back.
posted by dersins at 3:29 PM on May 6, 2009

Oh, I'd be happy to show up anywhere you decide to hold this thing! how exciting...
posted by oreonax at 3:29 PM on May 6, 2009

I'm easy—any locale on any day is fine so long as it's big enough to easily accommodate several dozen of us and has cold beer on tap. I'm thinking dersins is probably speaking the practical truth re: Sunday being the best bet for venues.

Music is nice, and if someone wants to DJ that's cool I guess, but I'd rather have it be background fill than a reason to have to shout—as much fun as I had at the New York meetup last week, I couldn't hear a goddam thing and was hoarse inside of two hours or so.

(The beer thing: I wouldn't tell a visiting out-of-towner to go to McMenamins if their stated goal was to drink the best beer in Portland, but it's totally decent microbrew beer. It's easy as a local to get tired of it just due to oversaturation and I won't try to tell someone who doesn't like it that they're doing it wrong or anything, but it beats the shit out of the Bud vs. Coors vs. Miller selection you find other places.)
posted by cortex at 3:35 PM on May 6, 2009

Anyone volunteering a mass crash pad? because a $200 flight is one thing, but a $100 hotel room that I may only use for a few hours is another.
posted by GuyZero at 3:59 PM on May 6, 2009

If this is turning into hotel rooms, then if people are trying to be cheap (like me) I'd be happy to crash on the floor of a room somewhere. One room should (unofficially?) be able to hold four to six people :)
posted by jacalata at 4:27 PM on May 6, 2009

A vote for Friday -- I'd dearly love to go, but I'm getting married on Saturday. and Sunday, um, I'll be busy.
posted by msalt at 5:08 PM on May 6, 2009

If Seattle folks are heading to Portland, I may skedaddle down, too. Depending on what vehicle I take, I may have three seats available. All tentative.
posted by maxwelton at 6:40 PM on May 6, 2009

A vote for Friday -- I'd dearly love to go, but I'm getting married on Saturday. and Sunday, um, I'll be busy.

Congrats!

I'm getting married the 19th so if we came, it would be late. Mr. Fierce aka Nickthetourist would be coming along as well, but we'll have family in town and must entertain.

I think a venue that can accommodate 40 would be best. We'll definitely have more than 30 at this one.
posted by fiercekitten at 6:49 PM on May 6, 2009

So, I talked briefly to the folks at East Burn, enough to learn that the private room holds 30 seated or "up to 50 as, like, a cocktail style thing." The space is free contingent on a minimum food / bar purchase, but the woman to whom I need to speak in order to get more detailed information was not available. I'll call them back tomorrow.
posted by dersins at 9:21 PM on May 6, 2009

I'm in for anything with public transit (which I think for a portland meetup almost goes without saying). Also, I think McMenamins beer is completely drinkable and often even tasty.

Also, congratulations on mefi marriages!
posted by Secretariat at 9:28 PM on May 6, 2009

I have three couches and some spare floor in Portland, in a convenient location near downtown. I don't want to have people here Thursday or Monday, but in between would be copacetic, mefimail me if interested. I would probably just ask for a little random household chore or similar small gesture as payment, as well as the standard leave it like you found it couch crashing etiquette.
posted by idiopath at 3:16 AM on May 7, 2009

Plase spare a thought for us out of towners that will probably be in the Northwest that weekend. I'm assuming, this being Portland, that all the options discussed are easily accessible by public transportation or rentabike, am I correct?

By the by, I'm 90% definite, but I don't want to put myself down as a yes until I've bought the damn plane ticket. If I'm in the Northwest nothing short of a bus-in-the-face will keep me from going to this meetup.

Oh and... while I'm looking forward to taking advantage of the fine brew on offer in Portland I'll be coming for the company. Also, does anyone have any idea what kind of crowd we can expect? What was it like for the big 9th (8th?) anniversary party?
posted by Kattullus at 9:21 AM on May 7, 2009

There were easily over 100 people there for the 8th anniversary party, but that included a ton of out-of-towners. My (admittedly often-wrong) gut tells me we'll maybe get 30 - 40 people for this.
posted by dersins at 9:28 AM on May 7, 2009

I would be surprised if we peak a bit past that into maybe 50-60 total territory, but that's over the whole stretch of the thing assuming some folks will show up early and leave early and others will show late and leave late (along with a bunch of us who will stick around for hours).

And yeah, all of this is accessible by public transit or bike.
posted by cortex at 9:33 AM on May 7, 2009

So I just got off the phone with the event coordinator who handles the booking for the "Annex" at EastBurn. Here are the details:

The space is currently available on both Saturday 18 July and Sunday 19 July. It can easily handle 40 - 50 people in a cocktail-party setup. The space has wireless internet, a tv monitor, and a sound system with iPod hookup. There would also be one patio table reserved for the event for any smokers.

There's a service change of $190 for the first 4 hours, and $30 for each additional hour. This includes a dedicated server (the waitstaff kind, not the coldfusion kind), setup and decoration (flowers, balloons and linens which can be customized to match the "company colors"), and breakdown and cleanup. So, for example, a 6PM - Midnight event would require a service charge of $250.

Additionally, there's a $400 food & beverage minimum on Sunday night, and a $600 food and beverage minimum on Sunday night. They're happy to do separate tabs for people, all of which tabs would count toward the minimum. Private party tabs must be closed by midnight, but the rest of the establishment is still open.

Underage people are welcome, but due to OLCC rules would have to be out by 9PM.

Saturday nights they also have live music, but not in the private space.

So, thoughts? It seems like this is our best bet if we want to do it Saturday, but that either Tiga or the Kennedy School might be better if we want to do it Sunday.
posted by dersins at 11:17 AM on May 7, 2009

Additionally, there's a $400 food & beverage minimum on Sunday night, and a $600 food and beverage minimum on ~~Sunday~~ Saturday night

Fixed &c.
posted by dersins at 11:19 AM on May 7, 2009

This includes a dedicated server (the waitstaff kind, not the coldfusion kind)

Do they offer JRun: Waiter Edition?
posted by grouse at 11:21 AM on May 7, 2009

Oh, and when should festivities start? My vote is start early and stay late.
posted by Kattullus at 11:34 AM on May 7, 2009

I notice there are a handful of musicians signed up. Is there any interest in live music for a portion of the night? I recall this idea being tossed around for the 8th Anniversary but it never materialized...

I've never posted anything to MeFiMusic but one of my bandmates is a MeFite and another is a lurker. But no one -- *no one* -- wants to hear our sloppy 80s punk covers interspersed with crappy originals about being happily married with kids at age 40.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:13 PM on May 7, 2009

So, for example, a 6PM - Midnight event would require a service charge of $250.

If we go over Matt's budget, I would be happy to contribute (say $100?) to the tab.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:17 PM on May 7, 2009

I like performing and like that people like performances, but logistically and tonally I feel like a meetup is a weird place to burst into bandly outings: it requires either that the performers assume no one is going to be paying attention (read: the worst kind of gig) or that everyone else is going to have to stop what they're doing and hush up for the music act (read: kind of a party foul).

So I'm kind of handy-wavey on the subject. I don't think it's impossible, but I'm not sure a crowded party is the best way to do it. It'd be fun to do an unrelated Mefi Music Show some time, but that's a whole other discussion.
posted by cortex at 12:35 PM on May 7, 2009

That saturday night sounds good, how about we settle on that place? Room for 50 people sounds good and I'd be happy to pony up the dough for the whole night (I originally figured it'd cost anywhere from $500-1000 for the night so I'm prepared to spend that much).
posted by mathowie at 2:52 PM on May 7, 2009

The Haughey has spoken! I'll call them and book it. It'll require a deposit, which I'm happy to front. What time(s) shallI book it for? 6p - midnight?
posted by dersins at 2:57 PM on May 7, 2009

Oh sweet, the Jupiter Hotel/Doug Fir Lounge is just a few blocks away for people that want to safely stumble somewhere while drunk to sleep it off.
posted by mathowie at 2:59 PM on May 7, 2009

Yeah, 6 or 7pm to midnight sounds good to me. I guess if underage people want to show up we could start earlier so they'd get 3 hours to hang out before being kicked out.
posted by mathowie at 2:59 PM on May 7, 2009

I'll book for 6p - midnight.

Hotel/Doug Fir Lounge is just a few blocks away for people that want to safely stumble somewhere while drunk to sleep it off.

As an added bonus, the Jupiter Hotel offers deep discounts to people who book rooms after midnight (pending room availbility, of course...)
posted by dersins at 3:05 PM on May 7, 2009

I'm heading over to EastBurn later this evening (10p or so) for a firsthand look at the space. Assuming it passes muster (and I can't imagine that it won't), I'll book it and put down any deposit necessary.
posted by dersins at 3:25 PM on May 7, 2009

Thanks for the leg-work, dersins, I think EastBurn (assuming it works out) will be a great venue to party down in, MeFi style. Oooh the excitement.
posted by nonmerci at 3:31 PM on May 7, 2009

That sounds awesome.

I wont be able to make saturday (and don't worry about that), but I would like to propose a recovery brunch on Sunday for anyone who is still in town and wants to hang out for a bit (or a friday pre-party). A mini meetup if you will. It could even be just grabbing coffee and wandering around Powells.
posted by mrzarquon at 3:56 PM on May 7, 2009

Awesome! Thanks, dersins! And the rest of you Portland folk, too.

We're totally up for a recovery brunch, and a pilgrimage to Powells (maybe I should bring an extra suitcase....).
posted by rtha at 4:03 PM on May 7, 2009

As an added bonus, the Jupiter Hotel offers deep discounts to people who book rooms after midnight

What means this, please? Like, if you book for three nights, but you don't check in until midnight-o-five on the first night, you get it cheaper?
posted by rtha at 4:09 PM on May 7, 2009

If you stumble in drunk at 12:01am and need a room, and they have one, you can get it cheap.

No good for making reservations, great if you ended up spending a longer night out on the town than you thought, and now you can't drive / catch the bus / etc. back home.
posted by mrzarquon at 4:12 PM on May 7, 2009

Ah. That makes much more sense. Thanks, mrz. The Jupiter looks at least as hip as the hippest hotel in SF (not that I'd know, since I never stay in hotels here), but stumbling distance has strong appeal.
posted by rtha at 4:17 PM on May 7, 2009

FWIW, I'm currently managing a restaurant / bar, but unfortunately it's in Seaside. I know the chances of getting anything going on here are slim, but you never know. As a bonus, I have a beach house that could accomodate a pre/post party.

More than likely i'll just join up with everyon in portland :)
posted by efalk at 5:08 PM on May 7, 2009

dersins, thanks so much for doing all the legwork! Sounds like a great space.

As for crash space for out-of-towners: I live in a small studio apartment, so I can't volunteer a mass crash pad, but I have room for one or two people. I live downtown near Portland State University, though, so it would be a 15-20 minute bus or cab ride back to my place from the East Burn. I'll need to plan around public transit or take a cab home anyway, since I don't drive.

MeFi-mail me if interested.

I can also help any out-of-towners find their way around or navigate the transit system if necessary, so feel free to ask.

Oh, and congrats to msalt and fiercekitten on their upcoming nuptials!
posted by velvet winter at 7:04 PM on May 7, 2009

Yeah, thanks for doing the legwork dersins. If it passes muster tonight, I'd say click the link to officially mark the date and time, so Portland can be the first 10th meetup out of the pending phase.
posted by mathowie at 8:12 PM on May 7, 2009

This is going to be awesome.
posted by OverlappingElvis at 9:36 PM on May 7, 2009

So, I just got back. The space is cool, but is a little smaller than I expected. It'd be perfect for 30 - 35 people, doable-but-cozy for 40 - 45 people, and realistically couldn't do much more than that. What's the thought on locking ourselves in at a max of 40 - 45 people?
posted by dersins at 11:22 PM on May 7, 2009

I'm moving to Eugene a couple weeks ahead of time, and I'll definitely be there.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 7:23 AM on May 8, 2009

We have a guest room here in North Portland that sleeps at least two and possibly floor space for more.
posted by tallus at 9:07 AM on May 8, 2009

What's the thought on locking ourselves in at a max of 40 - 45 people?

My opinion, based on nothing really, is that this will be bigger.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 9:25 AM on May 8, 2009

So I talked to them again and got another option, which would raise the cost--

The "Annex" space holds 45 people, and the cost for that for 6 hours would be:

$250       service charge
$600       food and beverage minimum
----------
$850

The Annex adjoins their covered, heated patio. For an additonal cost, they could block out half the patio area for us, including one large 10-person table and one fire-pit table which seats 4 -6. This would, I'd think, almost certainly be enough space for us, but because they'd be forgoing food & beverage income from half of their busiest space at prime time on a Saturday night, the food and beverage minimum would go up by $125 / hour. For a 6-hour party, that would mean our cost would be:

$250       service charge
$1350      food and beverage minimum
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$1600      which is well outside of mathowie's stated maximum.

Or we could go with the 45-person plan @$850. For reference, we've currently got 19 "yes's" and 28 "maybes."

Or we could continue to explore other options.
posted by dersins at 11:03 AM on May 8, 2009

Portland, OR — Organizer: mathowie

Portland, yo.
May 5, 2009 5:04 PM Subscribe

Portland, OR — Organizer: mathowie

Portland, yo. May 5, 2009 5:04 PM Subscribe

Portland, yo.
May 5, 2009 5:04 PM Subscribe