ABCey’s Weekend Lineup 5.16.13 – 5.19.13

Though it’s a gloomy day in San Francisco, the weekend is supposed to clear up in time for some great events. We’ve gathered up tech events for the techies, a festival for the wine lovers, and of course the legendary Bay to Breakers marathon!

1. Pitch Night! | May 16th | Spear St | Connect with Silicon Valley’s community of entrepreneurs and Google Developers. Pitch Night is your opportunity to meet people from the valley and around the world, pitch your ideas, form teams, and take the first steps at making your idea viable. This is a one night event, unlike a typical Startup Weekend event is only 5 hours.

2. Digitally Chic Meetup: Spring Fever | May 16th | The View @ The Marriott Marquis | Meet and mingle with all of the fashion geeks you’ve been sharing tech & fashion news within the DC group. This is a perfect opportunity to network and bond with people with whom you share a common interest.

3. “Feel the Music” Music & Tech | May 17th | North Beach | “Feel the Music” is a two-day forum on music and the science of how it produces emotion. A 3D, ambisonic sound studio helps make decisions in architecture, urban planning, and multimedia art, while new devices like the MobileMuse estimate the emotional impact of a live performance.

4. 2013 Uncorked San Francisco Wine Festival | May 18th | Ghirardelli Square | The eighth annual Uncorked Wine Festival is a free all day festival in Ghirardelli Square with live music, wine seminars and chef demonstrations by renowned Bay Area chefs. Beach Street will be closed to traffic for the event to provide room for over 40 Northern California wineries, breweries and other merchants. Wine and other vendors will be showcased throughout the courtyards of Ghirardelli Square as well.

5. Bay to Breakers | May 19 | The Embarcadero to Ocean Beach | Each year the race is a glorious celebration of the human spirit – a giant wave of athleticism, fun, frivolity, and determination flowing across the City from the Bay to the Pacific Ocean. In the true spirit of San Francisco the race is a celebration for everyone. Thousands of costumed participants join with families, and weekend runners and walkers.

Where will you be spending your time this weekend? Let us know in the comments below, or on Facebook & Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend Lineup: 5.9.13 – 5.12.13

There’s lots going on in the Bay Area this weekend! Concerts, festivals, Mother’s Day on Sunday…you’re certainly not going to find yourself bored. ABCey has gathered up some events for quite a musical weekend!

1. Bottle Rock Napa Valley | May 8-12 | Napa | BottleRock is a five-day, delicacy-fueled foray into the absolute best music, comedy, wine, food, and beer the world has to offer.For five days, downtown Napa will be the epicenter of a collision of music, food and wine that will reverberate for miles around. The lineup for this festival is amazing!

2. Silicon Valley-Shanghai Hackathon 2013 | May 10 | Santa Clara | Join PingWest at Silicon Valley-Shanghai Hackathon to interact with top coders, developers and designers from both US and China; inspire your peers or get inspired from others. Just bring your laptops, form your teams or find your partners onsite, then enjoy the 36 hours’ coding game, and turn your idea to demo!

3. Classic Cars, Food, Beer, Ping Pong & Art Fest | May 11 | Oakland | Classic Cars West invites you back to The Yard for a weekly daytime food, beer, ping pong, art and classic car party in Oakland.

4. 2013 Bluegrass Pickin’ Picnic In The Park | May 11 | Golden Gate Park | Sponsored by the California Bluegrass Association, this event is open to all who play or like to listen to bluegrass music. Your hosts will have a grill set up and will be serving hamburgers and hot dogs. Guests are encouraged to bring a side dish, beverages, and a jug of water. Bring your instruments, friends, and family. Chairs or blankets to sit on will be handy too.

5. 2013 North Beach Mini-Street Fair Kick-Off | May 12 | Kerouac Alley | A Fair to Remember is a gathering of local creatives. They have everything from bakers to vintage collectors, soap makers, jewelry and print makers, photographers and painters and their outdoor fair is a unique shopping experience held in Jack Kerouac Alley between Vesuvio Cafe and City Lights Bookstore in North Beach

What will you spend your time doing this weekend? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

Startup Monday: TripIt

Startup Monday is ABCey’s weekly post that features some of the best and brightest companies in the Bay Area. They are often companies that we have our eye on or have worked with in the past that we would like to share with the friends and followers of ABCey Events.

As event planners, we are well aware of the frustration that turns up after attempting to organize a trip. With so many details to worry about, people often end up losing track of valuable information or forgetting to tie up all the loose ends of what they’ve worked so hard to plan.

Luckily, there’s a mobile app called TripIt that can help you organize all these pesky little details in one spot! Even if you’ve made arrangements on multiple travel sites, TripIt will still be able to organize all trip details into one master online itinerary. This itinerary includes maps, directions, and weather reports for the locations that you’ll be visiting. Besides filing all of your trip information in one convenient spot, you also have the option to book restaurants, theatre tickets, activities, and anything else you could possibly think of straight from the app.

We think TripIt could really lighten the stress load the next time you’re traveling for a conference, convention or meeting! Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

ABCey’s Cinco de Mayo Fiesta Checklist

We love all different kinds of events, but a Cinco de Mayo fiesta always seems to be near the top of the list when it comes to our favorite reasons to celebrate! There’s something about margaritas in May that just feels right. ABCey has compiled a list of things you’ll need this Sunday to throw the ultimate Cinco de Mayo fiesta!

1. Tasty drinks

There are countless variations of the classic margarita. Brit+Co put together an awesome list of ways to change things up with your margs this year!

2. Festive decorations

Not all of us are super creative, but here are decorating ideas to get you started!

3. Great food

There are TONS of great recipes all over the web! We found a site with 20 Recipes for Cinco de Mayo.

4. Fun games

No fiesta would be complete without a piñata. If you’ve never made your own before, this is the perfect excuse to get creative! Here’s 20 Creative Ways To Make A Piñata.

5. Mariachi music

If you’re really in the spirit, you can hire an actual Mariachi band to play at your house…or you could move the party elsewhere to hear some live music!

Check out the ABCey Cinco de Mayo Pinterest board for more ideas! Let us know what we missed in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend Lineup: 5.2.13 – 5.5.13

Is it really May already?! The sunshine and warm weather insists that it must be so. It’s the season of weddings, concerts, graduations, and tons of other occasions celebrated through events. Not only that, but this Sunday is Cinco de Mayo! Grab your Coronas and margaritas and feel free to celebrate all weekend with these events ABCey has rounded up.

1. Creature Carnival NightLife | Thursday, May 2nd | California Academy of Sciences | Step right up for a night of circus fun inspired by the Academy’s marvelous menagerie of creatures. Play good old fashioned carnival games amongst roaming jugglers and gymnasts from Velocity Circus, and animal-themed Burning Man sculptures including Dusty Rhino.

2. Growth Hackers Conference | Friday, May 3rd | Broadway Studios | Join co-hosts Erin Turner and Gagan Biyani on Friday, May 3 at Broadway Studios in San Francisco to hear from new & returning speakers with track records of success building businesses using growth hacking techniques.

3. 2013 CASPA High Tech Job Fair | Saturday, May 4th| Santa Clara| All high-tech professionals in fab, semiconductor, software/hardware design, EDA, software development, finance, applications, sales & marketing, and so on are welcome. Hiring companies include: ARM, Contact Singapore, Hisense, HSBC, Intel, Lenovo, Marvell, MEMSIC, MediaTek, Microsoft, Sandisk, SK Hynix, SMIC, Synaptics, UMC, Beijing Delegation, Hefei Delegation, and more.

4. 2013 Kentucky Derby Day Bash & Hat Contest | Saturday, May 4th | Golden Gate Fields | Enjoy a day at the races, play the ponies, sip mint juleps, and bring a hat for the annual Run for the Roses Hat Contest.

5. SF Giants’ Free Cinco de Mayo Festival | Sunday, May 5th | AT&T Park | While the 2012 season provided plenty of reason to celebrate in the Bay Area, there is cause for yet another celebration: Cinco de Mayo! Bring your Cinco de Mayo celebration to AT&T Park and watch Los Gigantes de San Francisco, as they take on division rival Los Angeles Dodgers! Bring the whole family out for a day of fun, cultural celebration, and Giants baseball.

Which events will you attend? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend Lineup 4.25.13 – 4.28.13

This Weekend Lineup turned out to feature rather boozy activities, but we all need a few opportunities to wind down after a long work week! If you’ve been put in charge to find something to do this weekend, be sure to take a peek at our lineup. Whether it’s a high-energy night of dancing and music or a relaxing picnic in the park, you’ll find something to pique everyone’s interest and successfully enjoy the weekend!

1. Distrikt Presents: Revel – A Three Ring Circus Of Sound | April 27 | Erie & Mission | A carousel of beats, a 3-ring circus of sound, a day of whoopla, an evening of debauchery…and all that’s in between. If you’re looking for a wild night and a great time, this is it. Day time beats, bar, & DISTRIKT twisted carnival fun on Erie Street from 1-9pm! Two more areas of sound & insanity inside Public Works from 1pm-4am.

2. 120 Years of SF Fashion History Night | April 25 | The Old Mint | Join FlipSide & The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society for Party in Style at the Old Mint: 120 Years of SF Fashion History, a night of cocktails, music, and dancing.

3. Wine & Intrigue: Masquerade Soirée | April 26 |The City Club of San Francisco| Wine tasting? Been there, done that. But this one is different. This one is a masquerade party that features live performances, cigar etiquette and a fashion show!

4. SF International Beer Festival | April 27 | Fort Mason Center | Beer and food enthusiasts can enjoy a bottomless mug of hundreds of craft beers from their favorite local and international breweries as well as delicious eats from sensational San Francisco restaurants.

5. Off The Grid: Picnic At The Presidio | April 28 | The Presidio | Debuting this season, Picnic at the Presidio will feature a produce market with some of the Bay Area’s best farms and specialty purveyors. Knock out your weekly grocery shopping for fresh, organic produce with our selection of the local, seasonal produce.

*BONUS EVENT* Don’t forget to attend the How Weird Street Faire as well! A world-class music festival that takes place in the streets of downtown San Francisco, featuring a wide range of electronic dance music. There will be 10 stages of amazing music, art, and sound systems!

Which events might you attend this beautiful weekend? Tell us in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

Startup Monday: reddit

At times, we simply don’t feel like working. Or, we want a quick laugh from the latest meme or video that has gone viral. In these instances, we look to the internet to entertain us. Many of you may be already be avid users of this user-generated news site, but there’s no better site to visit for these reasons than the “front page of the internet”: reddit.

Registered users can upload content to the site, where the content is then categorized under a “reddit”, or a specific area of interest. Users rank the submissions, and these rankings decide the position the post will have on the site’s page. Content that gains popularity quickly ends up on the front page. Many people use the site to share hilarious videos and pictures, but you can also find subreddits for world news, politics, gaming, and technology as well. There are actually over 67,000 subreddits, so it would be pretty difficult to run out of content to view!

The site’s founders dealt with an interesting backlash of criticism after an SXSW panel was held specifically to discuss reddit and it’s negativity in the cyber world. Though it was made out to be the bully of the internet, reddit has proven to be a site dedicated to more than just crude jokes and insensitive users. Read more about the panel discussion and reddit’s reaction here.

Next time you’re down and need a laugh, or just need to pass the time, head to reddit and check out what their users are sharing. Let us know what you think of the site in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

Top 5 Sites To Browse, Share, And Shop!

Here at ABCey, we’re always on the lookout for the newest, up-and-coming products and ideas for our clients and parties. With all the different social media platforms we use to share trendy products and items that we’ve recently purchased, it’s no wonder that these Pinterest-styled shopping sites are popping up everywhere. Though each site varies in some way or another, they all offer an easy and fun way to discover unique products or help you find an awesome addition to any of your collections.

1. The Fancy – Fancy prides itself on the exceptional taste of their global community of over 3 million people. This crowd-curated site allows users to discover, collect, and buy from their catalog of amazing goods, places, and stores. Use Fancy to find the best gear, plan a vacation, or keep up to date with the latest fashion.

2. Luvocracy – There’s always the friend whose taste you truly admire, and now you can shop online using their recommendations. You can add the stuff you love to collections for others to see and shop. Each time you buy something, you get the chance to thank the person who made the recommendation and that person earns rewards for helping. Earn rewards when people buy what you recommend, even if someone else passed along your recommendation.

3. BirchBox – BirchBox aims to redefine the retail process by offering consumers a unique and personalized way to discover, learn about, and shop the best beauty, grooming, and lifestyle products on the market. With your subscription, BirchBox sends you samples of beauty products each month…but it’s not just for women! They’ve got a men’s section as well. If you like your samples, you can then buy the full-size version directly from the BirchBox Shop.

4. Storenvy – Users are able to promote the products they like to the Storenvy Marketplace by simply making a purhcase. Any time you’re browsing Storenvy, all of the products are listed in order of real-time popularity. New things are constantly rising to the top when they’re discovered and Envy’d or purchased by a lot of people at once.

5. Curisma – A fusion of the words curation, curiousity, and charisma,Curisma covers the tech scene when it comes to browsing the web and sharing products. Curisma members are influencers who discover and share the latest technologies and designs. You can find and follow people who have the same taste as you do, and then purchase these items as you please.

Have you used any of these sites to browse, share, and shop? Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend Lineup 4.18.13 – 4.21.13

This week, ABCey has a great mix of things for you to do! Of course we’re encouraging you to get outside and do something active in the sun, but many of our picks for this weekend just happen to be inside. From epic concerts to tech seminars to good ol’ beer and soul food, you’re bound to find something to meet your preference in this Weekend Lineup.

1. Designers + Geeks: The Future of Infographics | April 18 | Mission Street | Infographics are timeless, but practitioners must evolve to remain effective and combat the oversaturated media landscape. This presentation will examine the continued innovation in the field, identifying applications in which information visualization can create the appeal and soundness necessary to deliver a powerful message.

2. In Concert: The Lumineers | April 19 | Greek Theater, Berkeley | The Lumineers are an American folk rock band based in Denver, Colorado. Having grown in popularity at an insane rate in the past year, the band is here in the Bay Area to put on a show that will leave any attendee beaming with happiness. Their upbeat folk sound and care-free demeanor is absolutely contagious, and there’s no better place to see them than the Greek Theater!

3. Yelp! Seminar and Networking Event | April 20 | Sacramento | Do you know how often your prospects are seeing negative or positive reviews of your business? According to a recent study by two Berkeley economists, a half star improvement in your Yelp rating can bring you 30-49% increase in business! For business owners, entrepreneurs, on-line marketers, social media enthusiasts, and those who are looking to network with other professionals.

4. Bootie SF: Coachella Mash-Up | April 20 | DNA Lounge | So Coachella sold out before you could get tickets to the big festival? Then come out for the next best thing: Bootchella! Resident DJs Mykill, Entyme, and Dada — along with Bootie’s very own live mashup rock band, Smash-Up Derby — will be playing music from Coachella artists past and present all night! But there’s one big twist — they’ll all be mashed up! Sure, it might not be the “real” Coachella … but it’s 3000% cheaper, and you won’t get sunburned!

5. Speakeasy Beer & Soul Food Dinner | April 21 | Old Skool Cafe | Both Speakeasy and Old Skool Cafe are nestled in the Southeast corner of San Francisco, where they enjoy mostly sunny days, and clear skies. It’s a natural fit to have the food and beer paired with one another! Start cocktail hour with Sriracha deviled eggs, and stick around for dinner that includes babyback ribs in Prohibition BBQ sauce.

Planning to attend any of these events? Talk to us in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!

ABCey’s Weekend Lineup: 4.11.13 – 4.14.13

It’s a beautiful day in San Francisco! With weather like this lasting throughout the weekend, it’s the perfect opportunity to get outside and soak up some Vitamin D. ABCey has rounded up some events to fuel your tech fix, as well as some fun outdoor festivities that will keep you entertained throughout the weekend.

1. Xconomy Forum: Robots Remake The Workplace | April 11 | Menlo Park | For this special half-day event during National Robotics Week, Xconomy has sought out the founders and CEOs inventing real business models for the next phase of the robotics revolution—in manufacturing, health, schools, offices, energy, the home, and more—and the venture capitalists betting on their power to improve productivity and our quality of life.

2. Startup Party and Showcase | April 12 | One Ferry Plaza Building |Startup Socials bring entrepreneurs, investors, designers, developers, startups and professionals to meet and network in fun environment. Startup Socials parties combine startup products showcase, networking, no-host full-bar and dance floor.

3. 2013 Earth Day: Work Party & BBQ | April 13 | Presidio | It’s that time of the year to celebrate the Earth and all of its beauty while helping restore Presidio Natural Areas. After all your hard work, please join the group for a BBQ!

4. 2013 Berkeley Bay Festival | April 13 | Berkeley | Spend a day by the Bay listening to music, enjoying food, taking free sailboat and Dragon boat rides, and exploring the Berkeley Marina at the Berkeley Bay Festival.

5. 2013 Cherry Blossom Festival | April 14 | Japantown | The festival will be held on Post Street between Laguna and Fillmore Streets. There will be food booths, cultural performances,karate, live bands, Japanese sword demos, tea ceremonies, taiko drumming, origami demos and more.

Which events will we find you at this weekend? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook & Twitter!