The spirit of Art Happy Hour! 3 was best embodied by barkeep Freddie’s Brandy Sidecar.

June 5 turned out to be one of those days in Minnesota — where the morning’s promise had turned, by late afternoon, to stormy skies. A midwestern menu of tornadoes, thundershowers, hail, and flash floods was looming by the time I reached Clubhouse Jaeger twenty minutes after 4 (late for my own happy hour!). There were three people in the bar.

“What’ll you have?” asked Freddie (pictured above), Jaeger’s semi-famous happy-hour barkeep. I wasn’t sure — the long commute, traffic, roiling clouds had unnerved me a bit. I asked him to make me something, “in the martini family, but not a martini, and not sweet (I don’t do sweet).”

He thought a moment. “How do you feel about brown alcohol?” I answered that I could do brown alcohol. “Lime?” Sure.

He said he had just the drink for me. And so he made a Brandy Sidecar: Up, with a lime twist. It was perfect. Happy Hour had begun…

Below are some more pictures from the event. Art Happy Hour! so far has been a great chance to meet various parts of the local arts community. The first three events have drawn, as intended, a wide range of local arts professionals: arts writers, painters, gallery directors, filmmakers, cartoonists, sculptors, designers, arts web managers, museum rats, and arts editors — in conversation and good spirits and in the name of the arts.

I’m currently contemplating options and suggestions for AHH!4, which will take place either in later July or sometime in August. If you have any suggestions, questions, comments, or words of praise, send them to me at admin(at)arthappyhour(dot)com or arthappyhour(at)gmail(dot)com.

Cheers!

I promise to post a follow-up to last week’s Art Happy Hour! 3 very soon — perhaps tomorrow — but I’ve been quite taxed and overwrought these past few days for various and sundry reasons having nothing to do with art, happiness, or hours.

Trust me, despite the somewhat disappointing turnout to the last AHH! — which was likely dictated by the incoming tornadoes, hailstorms, thunderstorms, and resulting flash floods, more than anything else — I’m as upbeat and cheery as ever. Someday we’ll have a kick ass turnout to Art Happy Hour! Mark my word!

In the meantime, while you’re waiting for me to post about last week’s AHH!, I thought I’d send along a visual about what I’m up to today — A tasty drink I concocted just for this semi-partially-somewhat-okayweatherwise-evening.

A Blue Ginger Margarita

Made up of tequila, fresh lime juice, superfine sugar, Grand Marnier, ginger liqueur, and blue curacao. Not a shabby consolation after a disappointing AHH! turnout:

I promise I’ll post details about AHH!3 — which was actually quite fun despite the poor turnout — and preliminary planning information about AHH!4, shortly. In the meantime, be happy.

For Art Happy Hour! 3!

I apologize for being so late to send this reminder, but I’m just back in town from Pari-, er, Pittsburgh. And I’m all disorganized and crazy and still not in my right mind. I’ve also been up to my eyeballs in helping administer a new virtual arts writing endeavor, which has had the problem of being much more successful so far than any of us imagined.

Not to worry, though. I’ll be there. You kidding? I wouldn’t miss it for all the pierogies in Pittsburgh, er, paté in Paris.

Here are details:

Clubhouse Jaeger
923 Washington Ave North, Minneapolis

June 5, 5 pm to 8 pm

To find your friendly neighborhood AHH! admin, look for the famous Wally the Walnut hat.

You could also look for the vaguely exhausted guy just in from a long day at a grueling office, but the hat is easier. And to the five of you wondering if I’m still going to honor my pledge to buy you a first drink, not to worry. Art Happy Hour! is always there for you.

Cheers! (See you tomorrow.)