Last night, I bartended my first Bar Mizvah at the Calabasas/ Agoura Hills Community Center
and was pleasantly surprised out how it turned out. I say pleasantly surprised because I was afraid I was going to be dealing with 100 spoiled and obnoxious kids, but the exact opposite was true. The kids were for the most part very polite and respectful. At times I felt like a bartender at the Palace or somewhere like that must feel – every time I looked up there was a wall of people waiting for drinks.
The host and I had made a drink menu of mocktails to serve, but the vast majority of kids wanted Shirley Temples. My hands are stained red today from handling cherries. We also used dry ice, which was the first time I had ever used that. You have to break the dry ice up into chunks and you place one small piece in the cup, along with some real ice. It causes the drinks to bubble up and emit “steam”. The kids were just at that age, where they still have a bit of innocence left and they aren’t too cool for things like that.
There were a few adults in attendance and I served a few Pina Colladas, and I also served virgin Pina Colladas to the kids. The host had rented a very nice bar that I was behind. There were several other vendors at the party, including a custom t-shirt maker, a faux tattoo artist, and an ice cream cart. Catering was provided by Stonefire Grill. The DJ, System 3 Entertainment, at this event did way more than just spin records, and basically ran the whole event with games and an MC.
I think the Bar Mitzvah, the rite of passage, is a very worthwhile event, and is something I did not have growing up. I think that although kids obviously aren’t adults when they turn 13, it provides a good point to start from. I noticed how the host was involving his son in the preparation of his own Bar Mitzvah. I think it is a good point in time for kids to start accepting responsibility for their own lives. The Quincinera is similar event, and I had an inquiry to do one this week, but was already booked.
Next week I am doing a birthday party in Thousand Oaks and am negotiating to do a graduation party in Orange County on Sunday. I still have Saturday, June 14th open and want to book that date.
Shaken Not Stirred in LA 