It’s been sixteen months since I moved back to the St. Louis area from Brooklyn, New York. Because I seek interaction with new people and tend to make friends quickly, I was concerned that St. Louis would begin to feel too small to me once I got on my feet here. I wondered how long it would take me to meet “everyone” in St. Louis.
STL Wine Girl, The Cubicle Chick and Small Town Girl
Just when I thought I knew many of the key players in the St. Louis social media scene, I was invited to attend a St. Louis Yelp Elite party held at the Regional Arts Commission, where I knew only four people, including the Yelp community manager, Abby.
I attended a Yelp Blogger’s Roulette in June and had a great time, but when I arrived at the Regional Arts Commission last night for the Yelp Elite event, I was shocked to realize how many new-to-me faces there were in the room.
Caricature Artist, Drawing a Portrait of @milligfunk and @stlwinegirl
The main gallery area was filled with thirty or so people, and more had migrated to the rooftop deck where an artist was drawing caricature portraits for tips. Everything at the event was themed around the letter “P”.
@stlwinegirl and @milligfunk with their p-p-p-portrait
PBR was being served by a volunteer at the free Yelp bar, and boxes of pizza from St. Louis’ Pi sat on tables in the gallery. Brea photography had a makeshift photo booth set up, Powerade donated bottles of drinks, and Serendipity provided butter pecan ice cream and pineapple sorbet.
Puff Paint
Puff paint was present, and plenty of it. An entire table was set up with plastic Yelp cups to be decorated by guests using puff paint, markers, glitter and more.
As I enjoyed the venue, the portraits, the puff painting, and the food, I ran into a few friends and I had the chance to meet a few new people. More importantly, I saw how many people were in the room who I wish I’d have had time to get to know. Lots of fun girls in hip dresses and great shoes, and a handful of creative-type dudes who would probably be good for smart conversation.
STL Wine Girl and Small Town Girl - A Picture Frame Portrait
In New York, we talk about how small the city really is, despite its huge population. It’s not uncommon to run into old friends in the middle of busy streets or see your ex in a neighborhood they never used to visit.
Thanks to “P”-themed party hosted by Yelp and the Regional Arts Commission in St. Louis, I was reminded that St. Louis is overflowing with people I’ve yet to meet and with reasons to be curious about and interested in the community.
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Wow, this is a great review! Looks like you incapsulated the whole feel of the event! I am so glad we got a chance to chat and spend a little time with one another. You are such a cool person with an amazing spirit!
Glad you were able to come and meet some cool new peeps, Melissa! About 5 years ago when I first moved to St. Louis, I interned at RAC and met SO many of my friends. Guess RAC has that effect on people, huh?
Speaking of meeting new people… I’m sad that we were at the same event and didn’t get to chat! Bummer! Hopefully we will cross paths again at another Yelp/SMCSTL/blogger event!
-Danielle
@daniellesmyname