In advance of the inaugural Art Happy Hour!, here are a few basic

Art Happy Hour! rules.

Art Happy Hour! is convened in the spirit of fun, togetherness, mutual support, and fun. Oh, and drinking. And happiness.

Um, and Charles Baudelaire.

So first off, as Baudelaire would wish of us, in Art Happy Hour! there are no (cliche, I know) rules. Anyone who wants to can attend (even if you’re secretly not really all that into art, or happy hour for that matter—though if either is true you might want to consider whether this will be a good use of your time).

Anyone who comes to Art Happy Hour! can bring any accountrements, portfolio trappings, business cards, show announcements, or anything they want—as long as they are primarily related to A) art or B) happy hour, and as long as you accept that people have the right to turn down offers of such material. (No need to force it, people!) Anyone can bring any sort of burning question, preoccupation, fascination, or agenda they wish. Or you can come with a simply open mind. It’s all good.

That said, I have also posited a few basic rules for the future functioning of this website:

• The Art Happy Hour! event will be held once a month, mainly toward the beginning of the month (though the AHH! admin reserves the right to tweak the schedule to suit his selfish needs).
• Art Happy Hour! venues will always be chosen by YOU, the Art Happy Hour Tribe! through the neato-keano polling widget generously provided by the good people of Wordpress.
• Once a venue has been chosen for a Art Happy Hour!, it will not be considered again until twelve calendar months have passed (no two visits to the same venue in a single year; let’s spread the art-love around).
• Art Happy Hour! will take happy hour locale/date/time suggestions—to add to the polls—from any and all sources.
• Polls will close before the end of the month prior to the Art Happy Hour! and details about the event will be posted in the week leading up to it.
• Art Happy Hour! reserves the right to change its own rules for its own whimsical reasons.
• Anyone is welcome to join the Art Happy Hour! Tribe: (
  Your email:  
  Subscribe Unsubscribe  
  ).

See you at the Art Happy Hour!

Well well well. In a heartbreakingly squeaky election, The Independent-Uptown has taken the race—by a scant one vote over late-contender Grumpy’s-Mpls—in the first ever Art Happy Hour! poll. Final results can be found here. Congrats to the victor(s), and thanks to all of you who voted!

Just so you know, the venue has been contacted. Art Happy Hour! has been given semi-official blessing by a semi-surly staffer, who said, quote, “We should have no problem handling thirty people or so for happy hour.” One note,* however: There may be a small controversy over the duration of the happy hour, as Mr. Semi-Surly contradicted the information on the Independent’s website, saying the Weds. happy hour only goes to 7 pm.

Still, here are the pertinent details for your inaugural Art Happy Hour!

What: The inaugural Art Happy Hour!
Where: The Independent–Uptown, Calhoun Square Mall, 2nd floor, 3001 Hennepin Ave., Mpls
When: Wednesday, February 13, 4 to 7 (or maybe 9) pm

Any and all lovers of Art and Happy Hour in Minnesota are invited to come to the inaugural Art Happy Hour!
Details about how to find fellow members of the Art Happy Hour! Tribe will follow (in a future post).