We created an awesome Aurora Borealis as witnessed from an Alaskan Lodge for PopCap Games’ annual holiday party. Every detail was authentic from the hundred Stansport red lanterns burning the midnight oil to the hand carved wooden sign. It was a green affair with 20 pairs of free-cycled skis, found deer antlers, family heirloom chainsaw carvings and several vintage toboggans. DJ Whatever spun some clever tunes while guests gambled the night away, sang to karaoke in the Northern Lights Karaoke den, took ice luge shots and blended boozy milkshakes on the bike-powered Adventure blender. All capped off by a midnight snack of good old fashioned grilled cheese sandwiches.

The PopCap Games Summer Picnic was held Saturday August 2nd at Magnuson Park. We created a Neu-Rave Circus atmosphere for the PopCap staff, family and friends. There were tons of kids enjoying the Italian Soda bar and cotton candy while watching a Circus show by
Circus Contraption. Folks were seated in the whimsical beer garden enjoying Choppers and Manny’s by the Georgetown Brewing Company, local draft cider and local wines, eating delicious pizza and salads by Veraci Pizza while big props like 12 six foot banners hung from the nearby amphitheatre. Kids and adults alike were wild for the pedal powered spin art machine conceived by The Adventure School and created by Haulin’ Colin and the tile painting garden. Dog wranglers, kid wranglers and delicious cooking by Skillet were enjoyed by all. The prizes for the Human/Pet Lookalike contest were distributed to a stunning man/dog combo and over 300 dollars was raised in one hour for the Chicken Soup Brigade at the Charity Dunk Tank populated by various PopCap staffers.

Synapse Product Development held its annual Christmas party in their office this year. The Synapsters arrived to a winter wonderland filled with snowboards, skis, and disco balls. All guests were treated to a walk down a tree-lined aisle culminating in a glowing sculpture of an icy mountain. All twenty-five Christmas trees were purchased from the Dunshee House Christmas Tree sale, with the lion’s share of the proceeds going to their programming, including the Seattle Aids Support Group. A guitarist strummed as Synapsters, friends, families and clients nibbled on tasty morsels from The Boat Street Kitchen and sugary snowballs from Trophy Cupcakes. The elegant affair was punctuated by a skateboard exhibition in the company’s in-office half pipe and a parade led by girls dressed in winter forest ensembles.

All photos by Philip Kramer.

As the clock struck 7 p.m. over 200 people gathered in a lobby for the ZAAZ holiday party. They were surprised when they were whisked upstairs to the their office-com-nightclub replete with stiltwalkers, the larger than life bust of a stallion ice luge, and the two largest black satined and be-ostrich feathered dream catchers the world has ever known. Guests were treated to copious amounts of dim sum, Veuve Cliquot, and video projections as they danced to the sweet beats of the Sam Rousso Soundsystem. Belly dance performances were held on the hour in the hookah village as ZAAZ staff munched on mediterranean tastes from Cedars restaurant. The ZAAZ holiday party was in full David Lynchian effect as a man dressed in a penguin suit and Charlie Chaplin mustache bounced up and down on a bed at the Mayflower Park Hotel across the street holding a moveable light marquee saying, “Something tells me you are having a holiday party”. To cap it off there was a glamorous performance by the gorgeous Atomic Bombshells Burlesque and a raucous CEO birthday honoring cake smashing ceremony. At 12 o’clock no one turned into a pumpkin but hundreds of Dick’s burgers arrived, as well as Neapolitan pizza from Via Tribunali and the taste of childhood smore’s in the body of elegant chocolates by Sculpt. By the end of the party, staffers and guests who weren’t in the karaoke room or dancing on the bar were treated to a performance by the Merce Cunningham duo in the Ice Lounge.

All photos by Philip Kramer.

On October 26th, 2007 members of the Maveron team, a leading venture capital firm with a portfolio including eBay, kinetix and TerraPass and their families gathered for a Halloween Bash. Community notables such as former Washington State Governor Gary Locke and Maveron Co-Founder Dan Levitan were in attendance. Everyone was entertained by a mime, a clown and a cupcake decorator while the children participated in story telling, pinata smashing and a rousing rendition of the mummy game. Hosted by Maveron. The event was held at Maveron corporate offices in the NBBJ designed 505 Union Station building in Seattle.