Habs Tweetup in Buffalo: Beach Party!

by Amy, Habs Tweetup (AllHabs.net)

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- OK, so maybe it's not a "traditional" beach party - but there's sand involved, so that counts right? On Friday, November 5th our beloved Habs will travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres and Habs Tweetup will be holding its inaugural western New York event!

Habs fans from Buffalo, the greater Toronto area and even northern Pennsylvania will not want to miss out on this party Holidays Sports Bar in Western Seneca (just outside of Buffalo). Locals boast it's a great place to watch hockey, or any sporting event. There are plenty of flatscreen HDTVs placed all throughout the bar, the best one being the 14' HD projection TV.

What locals, you ask? Our friend Joe (aka @habbyween) who is also hosting the event! In fact, we consider Joe an expert on how great the Holidays Sports Bar venue is - he works there! At Holidays, Joe does many things from cooking to bartending - even running the bar altogether when the owner (his best friend) isn't there.

Joe first heard of the Habs Tweetup movement through Twitter. He was curious as to what it was all about and, after checking out our website, decided these gatherings "Looked like a blast!!!" Joe immediately decided he wanted to bring a Habs Tweetup to Buffalo. "I think the idea of Habs Tweetup is one of the best ones I've ever heard! Habs fans are everywhere!

"I am most looking forward to meeting some Twitter friends and being able to hang out and watch a Habs game with Habs fans. Growing up in Buffalo, only 3 of my friends are Habs fans, who will be joining us. So it would be fantastic to watch a game with others. I was only able to cheer with Habs fans once, and that was in '96 at The Forum."

He adds, "Sabres fans really get into the game and love their team with a passion. I'm hoping it will be a great start to a friendly rivalry."

We asked Joe what else Habs Tweetup patrons can expect when they come out on Novemeber 5th: "During the game, we will be eating pizza and wings. Everyone HAS to have wings when they come to the 'Home of the Wing'. Later on that night, I have rented the heated indoor sand volleyball courts for us to play volleyball, Kan-Jam, or any other games people would like." There will also be a live band playing in the bar after the Habs game is over. Sounds like a beach party to me!!

So mark your calendars, gas up your cars, program your GPS devices and get yourself and your friends to the first-ever Buffalo Habs Tweetup on November 5th. We know Joe is excited about it - and you should be too! Just be sure to click the "RSVP for a Habs Tweetup" tab at the top of the page to reserve your spot!

Holidays Sports Bar
935 Harlem Road
West Seneca, NY
716-824-8812

Read more...

New Habs Tweetup Photo Galleries

by Amy, Habs Tweetup (AllHabs.net)

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Has it really been over a week since our first Habs Tweetups of the season? I don't know about you, but I'm already looking forward to our next gathering! Games just aren't as fun to watch when you're not surrounded by dozens of friends all cheering together!

To commemorate such a successful opening weekend, and to help us remember all the fun we had, be sure to check out the Habs Tweetup photo galleries posted in the "Multimedia" tab at the top of the page! We've got photos posted from our New York City and Toronto events, as well as the newly posted Montreal pictures.

Also, if you attended ANY of last weekend's Hab Tweetup events and have your own photos you'd like to share - hop on over to We Are Canadiens, the official All Habs Network fan photo gallery. You'll find albums already created for Habs Tweetups and we welcome you to upload and add your own pics to them!

Didn't make it out to one of last week's events? I'm sure just by browsing through the galleries and seeing all the excitement, you'll want to make sure you don't miss the next one! We already have Habs Tweetups planned in Buffalo and Toronto in the next few weeks, with more locations in the works. Just click on the "RSVP for a Habs Tweetup" tab at the top of the page to reserve your spot. Hope to see you there!

Photo credits for the Oct. 9th Montreal gallery: @FlyersRule, @All_Habs, and @PabloJinko

Read more...

Habs Tweetup in Montreal: Hockey Season Has Arrived!

by Amy, Habs Tweetup (AllHabs.net)

MONTREAL, QC -- It's Saturday night, around 6:00 PM, and already Ye Olde Orchard is filling up with plenty of patrons adorned in bleu, blanc et rouge. The countdown to puck drop for the second Habs game of the season is underway and a sense of anticipation hangs in the air. On one side of the room, a group of fans begin to gather - warmly greeting old friends, shaking hands and meeting new, smiling faces and affixing "Hi, my name is..." stickers to their Canadiens shirts and jerseys. Ahhh yes, another Habs Tweetup is underway!

About thirty tried and true Habs fans gathered together in front of Ye Olde's large projection television screen to eat, drink, laugh and cheer on their favourite team - and did so loudly enough to help the Habs land their first win of the season. (And yes, it was TOTALLY our cheering that helped them win. Totally.) Many thanks go out to Joe, Ye Olde Orchard's Manager of Operations and bartender extraordinaire, for accomodating our group and reserving such prime seats for our event!!

Many familiar faces were in the crowd - but I was also thrilled to see many new faces in attendance too! It's sometimes intimidating to "take the plunge" and head out to meet up with a slew of people you've only ever talked to online, but after you do it once - you simply can't wait for the next event! I was glad to see all of the newcomers enjoying themselves and everyone spending lots of time chatting and getting to know one another.

The trivia challenge during the first intermission, an activity which is quickly growing into a Habs Tweetup tradition, quizzed everyone about the Habs and Penguins and the newly built Consol Energy Center. As usual, trivia guru Rick (aka @All_Habs) came up with some very interesting (and hard to guess!) questions which had many people stumped. (Thankfully points are also awarded for creativity!) Lots of people went home with some fantastic prizes donated by Rick, @HabItHerWay and @Celia83 - many thanks to all who participated in the challenge and who donated prizes!!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention our honorary guest from Vancouver - during the second intermission I logged onto Skype to video chat with @chile_pepper (which is also becoming a bit of a tradition when I come to town!) and passed my laptop around to everyone there to say hi to our friend from the west. Well, we said hi to HER but she had to resort to sign language to communicate back with us - my poor little laptop speakers were no match for the sound system in YOO!

There was a lot of really fun energy in the crowd at Ye Olde Orchard that night - many of us stayed well after the game was over to keep the party going and to talk about what happened in the game, possibilities of future Habs Tweetups (like I said, one is never enough!) and to simply hang out together OFFLINE. Even though we were still tweeting like crazy (old habits die hard, y'know).

Thank you to Rick for organizing another memorable Montreal Habs Tweetup - and thank you to everyone who came out that night. I, for one, had a fantastic time - always feel so welcomed when I travel to Montreal - and I can't wait to go back :)

Now what are you waiting for? Go click on the RSVP For a Habstweetup tab at the top of the page and get yourself signed up for another one! See you there!

Habs Tweetup in Montreal Quiz

Prize Winners:

Pablo (@pablojinko) -- Jewelry
Erin (@E_84) -- Jewelry
Kyle (@kyleroussel) -- All Habs t-shirt
Erica (@Habitherway) -- Carey Price autograph
Korina (@kptome) -- Montreal Canadiens poster
Gary (@thefranchiseca) -- Canadiens travel mug
Joanna (@flirtyjo) -- Canadiens tote bag
Mike (@habslaughs) -- Mini jersey

Read more...

Habs Tweetup in Toronto - Habs Fans Represent!

by Michael, HabsTweetup (AllHabs.net)

TORONTO, ON -- If you're a Habs fan in the GTA and you missed out on the HabsTweetup that took place last Thursday for the Leafs/Habs season opener… what were you thinking?! Ok, ok… maybe some of you were lucky enough to have actually scored tickets to the game at the ACC (ahem, ahem, @DBlyeHabs365) - but for those who didn't, I ask again… what were you thinking?!

Chalk up yet another successful HabsTweetup in Toronto, as we kicked off the 2010-2011 NHL season with tons of Habs fans coming together (some meeting for the first time) and showing their support for the Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge at Hoops Sports Bar (125 Bremner Blvd.) Prime location, directly across from the ACC!

Pockets of red were seen amidst the sea of blue, yet those pockets were actually LOUDER than the Leafs fans at Hoops that night. Represent! Sure, the Leafs got lucky and managed to take the opener by a margin of 3-2, but for those 24 who attended (both Leafs and Habs fans) - the night was spectacular. A night to remember for sure.

I'd like to give a special thanks to Gabby - one of the managers at Hoops who worked with me on organizing this event for the past month. To score a decent location for a group of about 25 on opening night in Toronto vs the Habs was definitely a task and a half. RealSports (recently voted number one sports bar in North America by ESPN) was fully booked with corporate parties. Gretzky's (where I've held past events before) wasn't taking reservations that night and unfortunately couldn't accommodate my group. St. Louis Bar and Grill was in the same boat. But Hoops pulled through, with the only stipulation being that my seats would be ready at 7pm, as opposed to 630pm, because at that point many would probably be making their way to the ACC for the game.

I got there with @Elysia3G about 10mins past 7p as we were stuck in crazy downtown Tdot traffic, while I fielded my bbm's and txt mgs regarding my whereabouts. As I arrived, I was ecstatic to see an entire "Upper Deck" section reserved for the HabsTweetup! Many familiar faces, and some new ones too. @shlippy, @tempz14, @jfurlong23 are 3 of my coworkers who madly support those, umm, Leafs. But Jeff (@jfurlong23) said it best that night… he stated how much of a diehard Leafs fan he is but compared to "kuyaz" and his Habs, he's not even 1/10th of the fan I am… bahahahaha! Awesome. Let's not forget my other coworker with them, @moshy40 who I convinced last year to join team Habs after showing her a pic of Maxim Lapierre (haha). Ah yes, hence why she has a number 40 on her ballcap!

My very good friend and first ever person I met on twitter @Nock4Six was in the house too! She's a Leafs AND a Habs fan. How? I have no idea… very, very, rare but she, as many of you may know, is awesome-awesome-awesome. Maybe I should take away one of those "awesomes" because she decided she'd cheer for the blue that night! Along with her were @naelshawwa (neutral) and @shrued (Leafs). Habs fans, it's time to get @naelshawwa onboard the REAL team's side! One of the booths along the side (see pics) had an even 50/50 fan split. @HabsFan1980 (great seeing you again!) and @phjoshua (amazing meeting you!) occupied the left (Team Habs) and my good friend @clickflickca (social media guru and creator of #ICE - interact, communicate, engage) and @walkerlucas (awesome meeting you too!) occupied the right… aka, Team, umm… yeah. ;)

Just in time for puckdrop… and who walks in? OMG it's the one and only, @tabithalavoie! Habs fans were pumped that another smart fan has joined the crew! I had the pleasure of meeting Tabitha during the Habs-Flyers playoff series last year when @amanada11 was in town and we, along with @dohRG decided to hit up St. Louis on Bay St. to represent our boys. Now do you see why I love Twitter and Habs Tweetups? Yes, I know I can be a social butterfly sometimes, especially after a few pints of my @mooseheadlager - but still, if you haven't had the chance to attend one yet, we suggest you get on that - asap. It's an amazing experience, and you will create friendships that will last a lifetime.

And while I'm on the topic, book it now Toronto Habs fans… next HabsTweetup in the GTA is on Nov. 20 (vs Leafs) at our very own Habs-friendly bar, Kilgour's on Bloor Street! (RSVP for it by clicking HERE)

Shortly thereafter, (as he went from table to table targeting Habs jerseys and asking if they were part of the HabsTweetup) @eastonj finally scored as he stepped onto the Upper Deck to join the festivities! What a super friendly fella. It was great meeting you Jay. Looking forward to seeing you at Kilgour's! Sorry I didn't get to my DMs that night!

Many thanks go out to @All_Habs and @FlyersRule - without them, HabsTweetups wouldn't be possible. Merci to Rick for sending me an All Habs t-shirt to use as a prize giveaway. We drew for the tee during 2nd intermission and had our waitress (in a Leafs jersey but excellent service may I add) pick the winning Twitter name. Thank goodness it wasn't a Leafs fan! Big congrats to @phjoshua, proud owner of a brand new All Habs t-shirt!

Finally, the grand master himself showed face, all decked in his Habs paraphernalia. Don't mess… he has arrived: *drum roll please…* @NastyKnate was in the house from Waterloo! It was awesome meeting you Nate! Hoping to see you again at future HabsTweetups!

Oh, oh, oh… hold up. Did I mention how many times @Elysia3G and @HabsFan1980 schooled some Leafs fans on the patio during all the rounds of trash-talkin'? Those Leafers were speechless. No match. I'd love to post about what was said but this is a PG-rated platform. How about we save it for later and you can all witness in person at our next event? Good job ladies!

Well, there you have it. I'm sorry, but I do tend to ramble when I post about things that get my blood flowing. One word everyone… HABULOUS. Looking forward to having more of you attend a HabsTweetup near you!

Go Habs Go!

Read more...

New York City Hosts Its Debut Habs Tweetup

by Chris, Habs Tweetup, AllHabs.net

NEW YORK, NY -- What a way to kick off Habs Tweetups in New York City! We met at New York's top hockey bar, the Blue Moon Cafe, at the corner of 1st Ave and 75 Street in Manhattan. Can't stress enough how great this place is for watching hockey (read my full review of this venue, "Habs in NYC: Blue Moon Cafe").

Carlos, the owner, was there to welcome us and watched the game throughout the night. There was a Yankees playoff game going on and yet there were three screens with the Habs game and a couple with the Flyers! It's usually like pulling teeth getting a NYC bar to have hockey on while the Yankees are playing a regular season game; it's truly outstanding that the Blue Moon Cafe would be so hockey friendly.

Initially there were three of us: Bella, Guy, and me. Can't say enough about those two; they are just fantastic. Not only were they a pleasure to be with but I learned tons. My mom is an anglophone from Montreal and it was fascinating getting a francophone perspective on the city. We talked about Quebec history society, Habs players, interesting team info, art, languages, hockey in general, Habs twitterers. I handed them Habs trivia questions, which were probably on the easy side for such die-hard fans. Guy was amazing and more than deserved the very cool All Habs t-shirt he won.

About half way through the first period, more Habs fans joined us. I approached a couple with matching Habs shirts to introduce myself. Out of the blue, the guy says, "Are you Chris?" They had googled "NYC bars, Habs" to find out where to go for the game. Fortunately, they found my blog post from last year about the Blue Moon Cafe (see link above for "Habs in NYC: Blue Moon Cafe") and turned up without even knowing the Habs Tweetup was taking place! We quickly invited them to join our group.



I am very optimistic that New York Habstweetups will snowball. I couldn't ask for a better group of people to start the movement! Only two ways the night could have improved: 1) We could have had four extra hours to just talk, get to know each other; 2) Habs would have won. Habs will be winning a lot this season so #2 will be solved soon!

To see photos from this and other Habs Tweetups, click the Multimedia tab at the top of the page.

To RSVP for a future Habs Tweetup, click the RSVP for a Habs Tweetup tab.

Read more...