#occupypatio

Occupy Patio Ironic High Tea: The Silliness of Life!

For the past two years, we’ve hoped to hold at least two Ironic High Teas in a year, and we’re on track to do just that in 2015. Our lovely Valerie is hosting a Celebration of Life and Silliness on her patio June 28, 2015. You know what that means--you need to either know Valerie, or know someone who does, in order to be there. Details now:

When: Sunday, June 28, 2015; 3:00 to 6:00pm Where: Valerie’s patio What: A celebration of life and silliness! Come dressed up (as usual); bring a yummy treat and your game face. Valerie will be providing tea and, for those interested in something a little harder, G&T. There may even be a contest for a series of silly categories like "Biggest Hat", "Best Dressed", "Tastiest Treat" and "Fanciest Tea Cup". Why: Because life--and silliness--are worth celebrating!

... but that's all changing! It's time to revive the patio scene in Calgary again! As I write this, I'm standing in the Amsterdam Rhino (which may now be called just "Rhino"...) and their patio looks mighty invitin'. We'll be kicking off a new season of patio sitting Saturday, June 8 at 4pm (right when they open!).

Details:

It's been quite a while since we occupied anywhere, hasn't it! Sorry about that. Don't you hate it when life gets in the way of living? Occupy Wild Rose Brewery last month was a great success. We occupied that patio for a goodly number of hours and sampled some fresh-from-the-cask Seasonal ale.

Next up, the much-discussed, much-anticipated Ironic High Tea. If I had to break it down, I'd wager this occupy is 70% enjoying the occupy experience, and 30% performance art. Read on for more details:

When: Sunday, September 30; 2:00pm until whenever we feel like leaving or the sun goes down and it gets cold, whichever comes first Where: Central Memorial Park, 1221 2nd St SW What: High tea in the park. We're brining fine china and wearing our Sunday best. If you want to go all out and don the Queen's favorite sunhat, have at'er!

Valerie is in charge of providing tea cups, so it's up to the rest of us to each bring the following:

1. A thermos of tea. And cream/sugar, if so desired 2. Delictable finger foods, the likes of which you would find at a fancy high tea. For example, scones with Devonshire cream; watercress sandwiches; strawberry tarts, etc. 3. A blanket to sit on 4. Your camera! We're dressing up and sitting in a park to have high tea. It deserves to be recorded!

Well, despite our enthusiasm, the skies were unhelpful for occupy meteor shower. No one wanted to go lie on a windy hillside looking up at grey clouds and not see any stars, but I guess I understand...

On to warmer, booze-inspired things. My friend and I have been planning to head back to the Wild Rose Brewery patio for a Friday afternoon casking for over a year now, and our schedules finally lined up! Rumor has it that on Friday they set aside a cask special and then doctor it. Around the holidays, for example, they load their Cherry Porter with real cherries and extra port. This week, they'll be cracking open a cask of S.O.B with Amarillo hops. But you have to get there early if you have any hope of getting in. So here's the plan:

When: Friday, August 31; 3:00pm to whenever (likely no later than 7pm as a few of us are looking at hitting up a Burlesque show that night. Any takers interested are welcome to join!) Where: Wild Rose Brewery, Building AF23, #2, 4580 Quesnay Wood Drive SW They're located in the Currie Barracks--over by Mount Royal University--next to what used to be the Calgary Farmer's Market. Why: Because they have beer, a nice patio--and so far it looks like sun!--and surprisingly good food.

We'll be holding down a table from 3pm onward, and they open the cask at 4. If you can join us for then, great! If not, we'll be there for all the after-work crowd, so keep an eye on @occupypatio and the #occupypatio hashtag for updates/details.

We had a great, hot afternoon occupying Sunfest on Sunday. After @outdoorphil and his band of merry mates wandered the festival for a bit, we hunkered down at the covered half of the Hose and Hound patio. Thanks, Phil, for making it a great day as always! (if occupy patio was into hierarchical structures and whatnot, you'd totally be winning "most frequent patioer"!).

On to a patio with a twist. For starters, like our indoor events, this one doesn't actually have a patio. You could almost call it a picnic, but, y'know, in the dead of night. For those not familiar with the goings on up yonder, August 11-13 marks the peak window in North America for the Perseid Meteor Shower. With the potential to see as many as 16-60 meteors per hour (with the peak being after midnight) it could be a pretty amazing show. So here's the details:

When: Saturday, August 11; 9pm meet to work out carpooling; approx 10pm arrival Where: Meet at Good Earth Cafe (once again, the big one downtown), 1502 11th Street SW at 9pm to arrange carpooling. We'll then head off to Nose Hill Park, the 14th street, 64th Ave parking lot, for 10-ish. What: A meteor shower picnic patio extravaganza! Bring a blanket, warm clothes, some hot coffee/chocolate/tea, maybe some snacks to share, and of course, a flashlight, and we'll just kick back and watch the sky Why: Because it's awesome

Very important: DRESS APPROPRIATELY (@ASKdesignCSI, @JennaShummoogum, I'm looking at you...) and bring your blanket, flashlight, etc. If you have a camping lantern, that would be awesome, too, for the pre-shower fun. If you're not opposed, bug spray might also be suggested. And for the love of all that's good, wear decent shoes!

@outdoorphil is an ambitious sort. A friend and supporter of the occupy patio movement since the beginning, he's keen to try and make a semi-official occupy happen at tomorrow's (yes, tomorrow's) Inglewood Sunfest. Lofty ambitions, but I think it could work.

If you're in the area, the plan is to converge--at some point over the course of the day--at Gravity cafe, one of my favorite YYC coffee shops. They have a small outdoor patio, but I think we can make the best of it.

@occupypatio may not be on site in body, so keep an eye out for the #occupypatio hashtag for more information.

Occupy Broken City last Sunday--where we sat for hours, munched on some tasty grindage and played a variety of games--was excellent! Not too hot; not too cool. Goldilocks would have loved it.

Tonight (yes, yes, I know--very short notice, though most of you in the know knew that we were planning something) for a variety of sleep-deprived reasons, we're downgrading tonight's outdoor occupy to a movie night at @vlrny's. So come one, come all (who know where they're going). Bring your treats and crash with an as yet-to-be-determined flick. I promise we'll do it up outdoors again soon before the warm weather flees (stay tuned for next weekend!) but tonight, it's time for a down-home experience.

When: Friday, August 3; 7pm Where: @vlrny's house What: Indoor occupy complete with food and film Who: You (know who you are) Why: Because @shannoetry is too fucking tired

Occupy @lyinghere's a few weeks ago proved to be a fantastic time! With the BBQ out, a kiddie pool to soak our tootsies in, and even a little late-night serenade from the man himself. Thanks again, @lyinghere and roommates for hosting us. We'll be back (whether you see us coming or not, methinks).

We skipped an "unofficial occupy" last weekend, too. It's great! These things are getting a life of their own: anyone associted with the occupy patio movement are picking up the ball and running with it. It's like occupypatiox (that's a TEDx reference, btw). Thanks to @outdoorphil (a regular occupy patioer and big-time supporter) for suggesting a wandering occupy patio at Sunday's Sun and Salsa Fest in Kensington. After a few hours of roaming, our little band settled on The Bottlehouse patio for some tasty treats and conversation.

So now it's on to our next official occupy destination:

When: Sunday, July 29; 2:00pm to whenever Where: Broken City, 613-11 Ave SW (it's a rooftop!) What: Sun, friends, fun, maybe some music, and a little gaming thrown in. That's right, you heard me -- got a board game you're dying to bust out? Bring it along! Personally, I've been jonesin' for some Poker, so you never know Who: You. And whomever you'd like to bring along