Greetings to all you Happy Hourians out there! Back to work after a long lazy weekend with nothing to do–what could be better? … Except maybe some news about Art Happy Hour!

Here are a few happy tidbits to add to your happy post-Memorial Day Tuesday joy!

1. After a long and hard-fought race, we have, at last, a clear winnAHH! That is, Art Happy Hour!3 will take place at Clubhouse Jaeger - Thursday, June 5, 4 to 8 pm. (Jaeger got 10 votes out of 31, followed close behind by the Lexington with 8 votes, and Nick & Eddie with 7). Mark your calendars and plot your Google maps, and come to the Art Happy Hour! And stay tuned to AHH! for information in the next week or two for information on how to find your fellow denAHH!zens on the day of the event…

2. The Admin of AHH! is pleased to announce the formation of a new Twin Cities-based visual arts blog on the Rakemag site. Called The Thousandth Word, it’ll include the musings, critiques, and other writings of a group of six arts writers who collectively have dubbed themselves “The Vicious Circle.” You can visit the first shot-over-the-bow post (by your very own L’admin d’AHH!) here.

3. Finally, the Admin of AHH! is also pleased to announce he’ll be visiting in the coming week, of all places, Mars. And, believe or not, once there he’ll meet up with Douglas Fogle, the former Walker curator who left Minneapolis for Mars in 2005. (Watch for L’admin to post an interview with Fogle and a review of the show jointly on The Thousandth Word and AHH! some time in the new month!)

In the meantime, did you know that the U.S. could have established a 500-person colony on Mars with the money it’s spent so far on the War in Iraq?

Or at least it could be.

In case you happen to roll that way, Art Happy Hour! is now on Facebook. Here, you can meet your fellow Happy Hourians, both local and nation-wide. You can follow the on-going saga that is the AHH! poll, and gain access to every Art Happy Hour! blog post. And you can send l’admin d’AHH! plenty of snippy and/or sexy messages. (Your choice!)

Plus, the first five people who sign up as Facebook Friends of Art Happy Hour! will receive a free first-round drink at the upcoming AHH!3. WHICH, by the way, is very soon to be decided (only two days left in the currently too-close-to-call poll).

Vote vote vote! Face Face Face! Happy happy happy! Drinks drinks drinks!

 I just can’t contain my excitement! Can you?! 

!!!

• Clubhouse Jaeger - Thursday, June 5, 4 to 8 pm (29%, 8 Votes)
• The Lexington in St. Paul - Thursday, June 5, 4 to 8 pm (29%, 8 Votes)
• Nick and Eddie - Friday, June 6, 3 to 7 pm (25%, 7 Votes)

And the 331 Club is not far behind!!! (And just about a week left to go!!!)

Don’t just sit there, find someone to vote for your favorite AHH! horse!

In lieu of the tragic events that occurred this past Saturday at Churchill Downs, the L’admin d’AHH! thought he’d share a little happy news about the ongoing Art Happy Hour!3 poll: We have a horse race on our hands!

As of this morning, 10 a.m. on May 6–with just two-and-a-half weeks remaining–the poll results show a neck-and-neck-and-neck battle between three AHH!3 venue contenders.

With 20 votes cast to date, Clubhouse Jaeger is just two lengths ahead, while Nick and Eddie and Lexington are dead even and coming strong along the outside. 331 Club, Buster’s, and Eli’s Bar are well back of the pack, but at this point it could be anyone’s race.

Tell your friends, relatives, studio-mates, and local art historians to get online and vote for their favorite horse in this race. Polls close at midnight on May 25.