Taste of Dunwoody 2014 Tickets ON SALE NOW

UPDATE:  via Dunwoody Friends on Facebook 1/21/2014 at 5:00 PM:

Taste of Dunwoody is almost sold out! Only about 70 more tickets left. Tickets sales closes Friday (1/24) at noon. No tickets sales at door. Can't go? Buy a raffle ticket (or 10) to support CHOA and you will be entered to win a beautiful diamond pendant donated by Jewelry Artisans!

11th Annual Taste of Dunwoody

January 25, 2014

7:00 PM

Crowne Plaza Ravinia

On your mark...

Get set...

GO!!!

Tickets to the 2014 Taste of Dunwoody benefiting Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta are on sale NOW and will sell out!  Get them while they last!  Buy online HERE.

I got my sponsorship for SDOC in the mail today (Hi Jill!) so my tickets are squared away.

Here's some shots from 2013 - this is what you will miss when tickets are gone.

YACHT ROCK!!

I love these guys!  Covers from '70s and '80s.  I double dog dare you not to get up and dance when they're in the groove.  The CHOA ticket site says that the boys will be back for 2014 (I hope...) but their website says they're playing a different gig in Cobb.  Let's hope this gets straightened out.

Yacht Rock's sound guy.  We don't need no stinkin' sound board!  That's an iPad he's using to adjust the mix.  I can think of some sound techs and tour managers from back in the day who are jealous.

Restaurant exhibitors just inside the ballroom door.  Pat and I were grateful that some restaurant sponsors remembered that this night was the first Friday in Lent  and offered vegetarian and seafood samples for those of us who are observant at that time of year.

It was also Valentine's day weekend so no one with a date had any excuses.

On the left, company logo displayed with other sponsors.

PHOTO BOMB!!

Goofball back there is Patrick Conreaux, a neighbor of mine and it's OK if he photobombs us.  He and his wife Suzanne are the owners of Blooms of Dunwoody in Dunwoody Village and they were also sponsors of 2013 TOD.

Awwwww!  

(Psst.  Tickets.  Now.  Go get 'em.)

Light Up Dunwoody 2013

The Dunwoody Homeowners Association sponsors Light Up Dunwoody, the 4th of July Parade, and Food Truck Thursdays.  This was their HQ tent where Stacy, Vanessa, Dennis, Heyward and other board members were distributing membership info to the adults and glow necklaces to the kids.

One of the first mobile vendors I saw as I strolled up to the Farmhouse.  First, food trucks.  Now we have a clothing boutique truck.  Watch for this photo again when I get around to finishing that blog feature on mobile-friendly websites and why they are now an essential part of any web presence.

It's not just a crowd gathering; it's Dunwoody huddling together for warmth from the cold wind!

The "stage", from the 2nd floor balcony, high enough to see.  It's about time they brought a menorah into Light Up.  Back at home, every celebration had a menorah the size of most Christmas trees right alongside the tree itself.  Each day had the right number of candles lit, then it was left lit with the tree all through the Christmas season.  Can that be an added dimension to this Dunwoody tradition?

More huddling for warmth as the sun goes down and all heat goes with it.

The only Light Up attendees that enjoyed the cold!

All lit up!

INTRODUCING: Wine Shoe Weddings

Earlier this year I announced the new website debut for Wine Shoe Atlanta, a high-end boutique wine shop in the Castleberry Hill district.  Wine Shoe also own an art gallery that makes for a stunning event venue, including for weddings.  Wine Shoe Weddings is a companion to that site.

Like its companion the site is a showcase for the venue:  all of the features and real, candid images of weddings and receptions that have been hosted there.

The audience for this site are age 30 and under, mostly women.   The presentation has to be both technologically interesting and easy to update.  We decided to use an interactive slideshow to scroll through the site's pages horizontally.  There are two mobile variations, one intended for tablets, the other for smartphones to further customize the experience.  Throw "weddings" into the mix and all thoughts go to the traditional.  So you'll see a frame of white satin, lots of gowns and flowers, and a feminine script for the headers.

Wine Shoe Weddings variation, intended for tablets

Smartphone variation of Wine Shoe Weddings.  Each is modified to be viewed comfortably, but the elements like the script and header images are all consistent.

The site structure is much simpler than its counterpart:  the showcase includes a slideshow of actual weddings and receptions at the Wiley Gallery, downloadable brochures and sample contracts, contact form and link to Google Maps for driving directions, and a calendar showing date availability.

The site will grow with entries on the "Currents" blog.  The owner, Nora Wiley is constantly finding new features to enhance the space and the experience and you're likely to seem them promoted on the blog.  As more weddings are held, more slideshow albums will debut.

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I finally got to meet my client in person at her shop a couple of weeks ago.  Both the wine shop and the gallery are the ultimate hipster, ITP experiences and it makes you feel really cool knowing where these places are.  Castleberry Hill and Wine Shoe are not hard to find:  only two blocks from the new Falcons stadium site.

(I am soooooo going to get shot for this....)

My tour of the Wiley, featuring new reclaimed pews toward the front of the chapel setup.

A new chandelier is temporarily stored in the old freight elevator shaft.

Across the street, the Fulton Dry Goods company.

This is where the cotton mill/warehouse/office scenes from "Driving Miss Daisy" were filmed.

The best part about working for a wine and special events establishment?  Drinking on the job is not only allowed, its practically a requirement. 

ENJOY!!