Habs Tweetup in Montreal: Is It October 9th Yet?

by Amy, Habs Tweetup, AllHabs.net

PHILADELPHIA, PA--I know, I know - the saying we're most familiar with sounds more like "Is it October yet?", but that's been done a gazillion times, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm VERY excited for that fast-approaching Thursday night when the Habs and Leafs face off in their very first regular season game of the year.

However, I'm even MORE excited to watch the Habs take on the Penguins just two nights later on October 9th - why, you ask? Because that's the night of the first Habs Tweetup in Montreal! (and yes, I'm traveling from Philadelphia to be there for it!) Join us at our tried and true gathering place Ye Olde Orchard (just one block from the Bell Centre) for an evening of good fun, food and friends!

Here's a couple of things to keep in mind for this exciting event:

1. RSVP, RSVP, RSVP!
2. Arrive early - FREE appetizers will be served at 5:30 pm. Don't miss out!
3. Wear your Habs gear! Show your team spirit and break out your best in bleu, blanc et rouge.
4. Did I mention you should RSVP?
5. Watching the Habs game isn't the only activity of the evening...we've also got games and giveaways lined up too!

It promises to be an exciting evening, so be sure to RSVP today. Simply click on the "RSVP for a Habs Tweetup" tab above and choose YES, or choose MAYBE if you're not quite sure if you can make it. (Please note it's very important for planning purposes that we get an accurate head count of attendees, so get those RSVPs in early!)
Now I know that some of you out there have never been to a Habs Tweetup and might be a bit unsure if you want to come out for one. Well if you like the Habs, if you like to have fun, and if you want to meet other people just like you, then a Habs Tweetup is just the thing! Feel free to contact any of our contributors for more information on what these events are all about.

If you have questions you can email Rick, our Montreal Event Coordinator, for more details! You can also catch up with him via his Twitter name @All_Habs.

Don't wait another minute - get your RSVP in today and mark your calendar! We'll see you there!

Ye Olde Orchard

1189 de la Montagne

Montreal, QC

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HabsTweetup in Connecticut

by Flyers Rule, Habs Tweetup


PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Who says you need a hockey game in order to have a HabsTweetup? Habs fans will use any reason to gather together...even in the offseason! In fact recently, two Twitter friends asked All Habs to set up a HabsTweetup simply for them to meet and hang out!

@kuyaz and @smalrus represented the Habs faithful at their very own HabsTweetup held in Connecticut in mid-July, when @kuyaz was in town from Toronto. From what we've heard, they shared a few cold beverages and hit the jackpot with all-you-can-eat wing night at McLaddens in West Hartford Center.

It just goes to prove that whether there are 2 or 52 people in attendance, a HabsTweetup provides the perfect opportunity for tweeps to meet, mix and mingle! In this case, a Twitter friendship that was forged months ago was further solidified by having the opportunity to finally meet each other in person for a memorable evening. (@smalrus tweeted that "I've been deemed by @kuyaz as worthy enough for him to come for a Montreal #habstweetup!")

And when you think about it, there is an incredible "multiplier effect" to consider - even though @kuyaz and @smalrus where the only two people actually enjoying wings and beer at McLaddens, hundreds of people were also there in virtual form, as tweets between the two and their followers carried on throughout the evening. We've even had the opportunity in the past to use technology to its fullest potential and expand the reach of the HabsTweetup to distant places...Skype is a perfect way to have far-off friends join the party if they can't physically be there!

So where will the next HabsTweetup turn up? It could be in a city near you! In fact, a number of HabsTweetups are already scheduled for the start of the upcoming hockey season...click on the RSVP for a HabsTweetup tab at the top of the page to reserve your seat. Don't see one in your area? Click on the Host a Habs Tweetup tab to find out how to host one!

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2nd Annual NHL Amateur Draft HabsTweetup

by Flyers Rule, Habs Tweetup

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- It's a weekend still talked about today - people fondly reminiscing about the good times they had and the friends they met at the 1st Annual NHL Amateur Draft Habstweetup in Montreal. Well this year the draft may have moved on to a different city, but that wouldn't stop the fun-loving folks in Montreal from resurrecting another Draft Habstweetup!

For me, it was the anniversary of my first-ever trip to Canada so of course I had to make the return trip again...the drive is definitely worth attending any HabsTweetup! The venue was our reliable meeting spot: Ye Olde Orchard...with perfect seats for viewing the draft coverage on the main room's projector screen TV. It was a great mix of people from the first Draft Habstweetup together again, joined by a few folks who had recently discovered Habstweetups, as well as some friendly new faces. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Gary Whittaker and Nick Murdocco (hosts of The Franchise on the Team990) had stopped by to find out what the HabsTweetup craze was all about!

Friendly debate and conversation ensued as everyone filled out an informal poll to determine who they believed the Canadiens would select as their 1st Round pick (27th overall). Possibilities for whom the Habs should sign as a backup for Carey Price were also discussed as free agency loomed right around the corner. Later, attendees competed against each other to answer as many questions correctly as they could in the All Habs Draft Trivia Challenge. Congratulations to @kyleroussel and @theactivestick who tied for first place! Prizes were awarded to them, as well as the second and third place runners-up (@EP31 and @HabItHerWay). There was even a prize for "creative answers" which went to @metricjulie!

Of course all of this was happening in and around the main event - the 1st Round of the NHL Amateur Draft! It was an evening filled with some predictable choices along with some unexpected moves (see the corresponding article on the All Habs site by clicking HERE). Overall it provided some interesting conversation and speculation regarding the upcoming season. Another fantastic HabsTweetup in the books! If you weren't there, you missed out for sure - but you can still check out the night's photos (and many more) by clicking HERE!

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Tales From The Toronto Tweetup

by Flyers Rule, Habs Tweetup

PHILADELPHIA, PA -- The travel bug has officially bitten me - hard. This year I finally had a real reason to make my debut visit to our neighbor to the north, Canada, for the very first time. I was not disappointed - and that's an understatement!

In June I trekked to Montreal for the NHL Draft Tweetup sponsored by @All_Habs, @metricjulie, @amandafortier, and @kyleroussel...it was a weekend I'll never forget thanks to a superior Montreal Tweetup crew and all of the fun-loving, friendly hockey tweeps I met (never mind the fact that Montreal is a truly beautiful city!).

It was then that Habs Tweetup was born - hockey fans from far and wide coming together to celebrate the Habs (or whatever your team of choice is...ahem..Flyers!) and have a spectacular time doing it. I knew after that weekend that nothing would keep me from Canada or anywhere else a Habs tweetup was organized...I may be a loyal, dedicated Flyers fan, but I now foster a great love for the bleu, blanc et rouge in Montreal :)

Sure enough, @All_Habs and @kuyaz decided that a Habs tweetup should take place in Toronto during a Habs/Leafs game - how else to better celebrate this storied rivalry? And with no arm-twisting needed, I circled the date on my calendar and packed my bags for Toronto!

Toronto, although quite a different city from Montreal, is equally as beautiful - with a hometown neighborhood-like charm. I decided to drive up to Ontario a day early to give myself time to sightsee and play tourist...a decision I do not regret! There is so much to see and do in Toronto - I have quite a list compiled of more things that I need to do there!

I decided to hit 3 major "sights" in the city - Casa Loma, the CN Tower and the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF). Yes, I like to pack a lot into my vacations :)

Casa Loma appealed to the history-loving education geek in me - a majestic castle built by Sir Henry Mill Pellatt (a prominent Canadian financier and military officer) in the early twentieth century. The castle is what Sir Henry and his wife called home and is now open to the public.

Complete with gardens, a Conservatory, turrets and towers to climb, secret passageways to unveil and underground tunnels to explore, Casa Loma was the perfect way to spend a cold and rainy afternoon. Most rooms of the castle have been preserved and restored to their breathtaking original splendor. I highly recommend adding this to your list of places to see in Toronto.

I felt that I'd be pretty silly if I skipped visiting the most prominent landmark in Toronto - the CN Tower (which also happens to be the world's tallest building). Unfortunately, it was REALLY windy that day so no one was allowed to go outside on the observation deck, and the Skypod was also closed because of the gusts. But no amount of wind can take away the breathtaking views of the city and of Lake Ontario from that height. I think I could've spent hours just getting lost in the landscape...it's very peaceful up there. One other cool feature is the Glass Floor - one small section of the observation deck that you can stand on and look allllllll the way down to the ground. *gulp* YIKES! Thanks, but I prefer concrete under my feet :)

So now we get to the good stuff - the Hockey Hall of Fame! In order to get pumped up for the Tweetup, I waited to visit the HHOF til Saturday (Halloween!!) and got the grand tour with @All_Habs. Let me just say, if you've never been to the HHOF, put down what you're doing and go there RIGHT NOW! It's quite honestly the most amazing place a hockey enthusiast could ever visit.

From the antique equipment and sweaters used by the forefathers of our favored game, to the collection of trophies large and small (the pièce de résistance being the Stanley Cup of course!), to the abstract teams no longer in existence (the Trail Smoke Eaters...really?!), to the replica of the Habs dressing room in the Forum - this place has it all, and then some. You can find gear from every team in the NHL and just about every other well-known league in the world.

Of course, we made it a point to check out tons of Habs displays - but a Flyers fan like me was especially pleased to find the Philly display, Mike Richards' Memorial Cup photograph, a Quakers jersey (the Philadelphia NHL team from 1930-1936), and an official helmet from Dave "The Hammer" Schultz's Army (CONGRATS DAVE! He's being inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame on Monday, November 16th, 2009! I've had the pleasure of meeting Dave on a few occasions - a very nice guy and a legendary hockey player. Broad Street Bullies forever!)

If you know me well enough, you don't have to think very hard to guess who my favorite hockey player is - Martin Biron. And yes, goaltending is my most loved hockey position. So I was challenged to channel a bit of Marty and get padded up in the interactive exhibit section of the HHOF. Sure enough, there I was in goal, suited up in very incomplete padding, while Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier fired weighted sponge pucks at me through five different mechanically-fed openings in a giant video screen. I humbly chose the "Rookie" setting and managed to stop 4 out of 5 shots. Think I'm ready for the NHL? :)

So after much ado and plenty of sightseeing, it was finally Saturday night and time for the REAL reason for this trip...the Habs Tweetup!! The location was set downtown on lively Bloor Street and THE Habs-friendly bar in the city, Kilgours. What an oasis in a sea of Leafs-happy watering holes! This cozy, friendly pub has Habs memorabilia everywhere you look - with awesome food and super-nice bartenders and servers.

Our group of about 13 people had a ton of fun (even though we were infiltrated by some die-hard Leafs fans...@Nock4Six!! lol - luckily she's a great girl, despite her insistence upon yelling "Go Leafs Go" all the time! lol) - made up mostly of folks from Toronto...some of whom aren't even on Twitter YET...and @sabotek with @sexyaccentguy who were in from Ottawa. Before the end of the night, other Habs fans in the bar were even pulling up a chair to join in the fun at our tables. Thank you @All_Habs and @kuyaz for organizing such a fantastic event!


All in all, the Toronto Habs tweetup was well worth the trip - quite a memorable weekend! And you can bet that I'm doing my best to make plans to be at the Habs/Sens tweetup @sabotek is sponsoring in Ottawa on November 21st!

Stay tuned to Habs Tweetup for more info on that event and many more - before you know it, they're gonna turn this into Habs Nation! :) Except when all of you finally come to Philly, that is!!! LOL

Happy Travels! See ya at the next #HABSTWEETUP - Ottawa here we come!!


Check out more photos from the Habs Tweetup in Toronto here. Do you have any photos to share? Please send them to habstweetup@gmail.com

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