Tag: agoura hills

Uncategorized, Wedding Bartender

Agoura Hills Recreation Center Wedding

shakennotstirredinla
agourarec1
Back view of the Agoura Hills Recreation Center

On Friday night Shaken Not Stirred visited the Agoura Hills Recreation Center to provide bartending service for a wedding reception. The newlyweds were married a week or two prior in a small ceremony, but they wanted to throw a party for their family and friends. The recreation center at Agoura Hills is a very new venue and is great for these types of events.

This wedding party had about 100 guests and I handled the crowd by myself. This is about the limit for one bartender. I once did a wedding of 160 people and that was the absolute limit. The guests just don’t get very good service when there is only one bartender and that many people. On Friday I think I handled 100 people pretty well, but it was intense at times, because there is no break and the people just keep coming in waves.

agourarec2
Dining room at the Agoura Hills Rec Center

I served some easy cocktails that the bride and groom had decided on. I served completely out of vodka by the end of the night and served a lot of red and white wine. It is now the season that wine becomes more popular as the temps start to cool down. The weather was perfect on Friday for this party.

agourarec3
Shots!

Agoura Recreation Center Event Space

  • Large seating capacity
  • Ample free parking
  • Large dance floor
  • Friendly staff and security
  • Nice hilltop views

The Agoura Hills Recreation Center is a great venue and I hope to return there again. I had a quick turnaround after the wedding party because I had to get up the next morning and drive to Indian Wells to bartend a daytime two day pool party.  Next weekend I have nothing scheduled, but will surely be going somewhere. The fun is in not knowing exactly where in Southern California I will end up.

agourarec4
Shots 2!
Uncategorized

Villa Park 10th Birthday Party

shakennotstirredinla
vp5
Shark theme at 10th birthday party

On Saturday I returned to best backyard bar in Villa Park in OC to bartend a 10th birthday party. Yes, I do kids birthday parties quite often, because the adult guests need a cocktail, and I make mocktails for the kids. This was the third party I have done for these clients and they really go all out each time. I think this was probably one memorable 10th birthday party for the birthday boy.

The hosts always rent some really cool party props for their parties depending on what the theme is. For this party, the theme was beach and sharks and they had all kinds of event props along those lines. I believe they get the event props at RWP Party Props of Orange. They had lifeguards for this party and I wish I would have got their card, because they did a great job providing pool games for the kids and keeping them safe. I would say lifeguards are a must have at this type of party. The Habit provided the food truck.

dscf5437
Dangerous waters…

I made three different mocktails for the kids – a shark attack drink, the ever popular Shirley Temple, and a virgin Pina Collada. One little girl even asked for a Roy Rodgers, which was my favorite as a kid. The adults drank many real Pina Colladas, beers, and various other cocktails. It was a very relaxed day, but I kept plenty busy.

vp3
Adults socialize at OC birthday party

10th Birthday Party Ideas

  • Choose a theme
  • Provide entertainment
  • Hire a bartender
  • Hire lifeguards
  • Serve great food

At the end, the host asked me back to provide bartending service for a weeknight cocktail party in a couple of weeks. I always love those. This weekend I will be bartending a wedding in Agoura Hills on Friday night, and then am leaving the next morning for Palm Springs where I will be providing poolside bartending service for two days at an executive retreat.

vp1
Lifeguards facilitate pool contests
Birthday Party Bartender, Uncategorized

Agoura Hills 40th Birthday Party

shakennotstirredinla
agh4
Agoura Hills neighborhood

On Saturday, Shaken Not Stirred traveled to Agoura Hills to bartend a 40th birthday party and casino night. The host had really done the house up right for the event and they had two blackjack tables, a craps table and Texas Hold em’ poker. They really had the house set up like an illicit private casino. This was all in fun, of course, because the guests weren’t gambling for real money.

The home at a built in bar, that the host said they never used. I made myself at home behind the bar and I served Moscow Mules, Kentucky Mules, Lemon Drops, and Cosmos. There were over fifty guests and I kept pretty busy for awhile. The guests were having a great time at the tables, and when I could I went around Vegas style to tables taking drink orders.

agh3
Blackjack table

40th Birthday Party Ideas

  • Hire a bartender
  • Casino games
  • Plan a drink menu
  • Choose a theme

The food provided for this 40th birthday party was traditional middle eastern cuisine, including shish kabobs, hummus and other favorites. I did not get the name of the caterer. California Casino Company of Thousand Oaks provided the dealers and casino tables. Pandora, I believe provided the music. Of course, all casino nights usually include music from the Rat Pack, including classics by Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Dean Martin. I was thinking that these songs, like “All or Nothing at All,” “I’ve Got You Under my Skin,” have been recycled thousands of times at Italian Restaurants, Casinos, and parties. All of those songs that were recorded in the sixties, and there is nothing new like them coming out now. All of the great song writers must be dead.

agh2
Texas Hold Em’

March was slow for Shaken Not Stirred, but things are looking up in April. I have a wedding this weekend in Camarillo, that kicks off the Spring wedding season. Then I have three back to back events in Downtown LA, then the following weekend I am off to La Quinta to bartend two weddings. I have had many calls for graduation parties in May, and am having to farm some of them out. If I can’t do a job myself, I will do my best to refer another bartender I trust, or send one of my other qualified bartenders out.

agh1
Craps
Bar Mitzvah Bartender, Special Event Bartenders

Calabasas Bar Mitzvah

shakennotstirredinla

Last night, I bartended my first Bar Mizvah at the Calabasas/ Agoura Hills Community Center

Rented bar for Bar Mitzvah
Rented bar for Bar Mitzvah
Kids dancing at Bar Mitzvah
Kids dancing at Bar Mitzvah
Ice cream line
Ice cream line

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.