Allyuh ever buy a ticket to go somewhere just because? U know nothing about it and have zero expectations and as u buying the ticket, u say, “well self. how bad can it be? I mean, it have alcohol so…jes buy the ticket.” And then u go and u have the time of your life? That was me with Health, Hope & Hops last year. Lol. It’s an annual fundraiser held by the MSCA. I’d seen the emails for it before but never went. I don’t remember what made me decide to buy a ticket last year…actually….now I think about it, every year since i put them together, Claire the organiser, avidly works with Aunty P at the Men Who Can Cook event so I decided to go to support Claire. Besides, that meant that i was doing my part to ensure that the MSCA stayed in business – I need it. i bought my ticket. Soon after, G told me that she was going to be here that week so we organised for her too.
“HH&H” is held at a brewery in downtown Atlanta on a Thursday night. It starts with a complimentary cocktail hour between 6 and 7 followed by a 4 course dinner that’s “MS healthy and prepared personally for the evening”. Each course is paired with either beer or wine. G got there right around 6 (cuz she wasn’t working that far away) and took advantage of the cocktail hour. By the time I got there at 6:45ish I was able to get a margarita that was the worst I’d drunk in my life so the evening really started on shaky ground -I eh go lie. There were a few opening remarks and then everything really began. We didn’t know what to expect, so we figured that based on the menu choices, we’d divide and conquer so that between us, we’d get a taste of everything. Well. What we didn’t know was that everybody got everything on the menu and we didn’t get beer OR wine, we got beer AND wine with each course if u so chose – we chose. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the waiters weren’t stingy with anything. Thinking back, neither of us can really pinpoint any ONE thing that made the night so good. I guess it was a combination of the food, the people, the cause and last but not least, the ever flowing alcohol. It was a “school” night but we didn’t care…we were having a great time. At the end, I knew that I was never going to miss it again.
This year, it was held on April 19th and I roped in SD, Frit, K and Dom and OB got lucky because he happened to be here. Once again, it didn’t disappoint and Frit even went as far as to to say that it was “the best night he’d had in a long time”. There was a waiter there who seemed familiar to me and I asked him if he was there last year. His reply was yes and he went on to say that he always signs up to work the event because he always has such a good time doing it. G couldn’t be there this year, so I tortured her with pictures throughout the night. Once again, none of us can really pinpoint exactly what it was that made the evening so great, but everyone had a fantastic time.
Both years it was on the 2nd to last Thursday in April, so I’m thinking it’s almost safe to say that that’s when it’s held every year. If you’re ever in Atlanta around that time and looking for a good time for a good cause, be sure to check it out. Health, Hope & Hops held by the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta and hosted by the staff at the 5 Seasons Brewery. And guess what? for everything you get out of the night, it is dirt cheap and sooooo worth it.
