Hey Everyone, Thanks so much for attending BeadQuest II on February 20, 2010!  We wanted to publish here a list of some of the major prize winners from our end-of-party Raffle that took place that evening.  Thanks VERY MUCH to our sponsors who provided the gift certificates, and especially to Murphy’s Bleachers and Miller Lite for the Cubs Game Rooftop Tickets!!

• 2 ROOFTOP TICKETS FOR CHICAGO CUBS VS CHICAGO WHITE SOX, JUNE 12, 2010 >> JESSICA MOOREHOUSE OF CHICAGO!!
• 2 ROOFTOP TICKETS FOR CHICAGO CUBS VS CHICAGO WHITE SOX, JUNE 12, 2010 >> JULIE HURT OF CHICAGO!!
• 2 ROOFTOP TICKETS FOR CHICAGO CUBS VS CALIFORNIA ANGELS (OR WHATEVER THEY’RE CALLED NOW) >> Josh Fullmer of Chicago
• 2 ROOFTOP TICKETS FOR CHICAGO CUBS VS CALIFORNIA ANGELS (OR WHATEVER THEY’RE CALLED NOW) >> Jamie Boyle of Ohio
• $50 Gift Certificate for Mad River Bar & Grill > Marina Christos of Chicago
• Casey Moran’s Free 3-Hour Party > Lauren from Chicago
• $25 Gift Certificate for Sluggers > Katie Kellogg from Iowa
• $25 Gift Certificate for Yak-Zies > Geric Gough of Michigan
• Casey Moran’s Free 3-Hour Party > Leigh Anne L. from Chicago
• $50 Gift Certificate for Mad River Bar & Grill > Liz Berg of Chicago
• $50 Gift Certificate for Harry Caray’s > Jennifer Witt of Chicago
• 2 $25 Gift Certificates for Bernie’s > We cannot remember, but they did come up and did claim them Saturday Night!!!
• Casey Moran’s Free 3-Hour Party > Kerri Vincent from Chicago
• $25 Gift Certificate for Clark Street Dog > Bill Farrell of Chicago
• $25 Gift Certificate for John Barleycorn > Danielle O’Neal from Wisconsin
• $25 Gift Certificate for Yak-Zies > Annette P from Chicagoland
• $25 Gift Certificate for Cubby Bear > Laura Haas of Indiana
• $25 Gift Certificate for Cubby Bear > Grant Anderson of Huntley
• $25 Gift Certificate for Sluggers > Candice from Chicago
• Breakfast at McDonald’s > Kathryn Deluhery of Chicago
• … And if we have a few more prizes unclaimed prizes, we’ll post on FB and have a contest for!

Thanks very much & Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!

PRIZES INCLUDE:

4 ROOFTOP TICKETS FOR CUBS VS WHITE SOX, JUNE 2010, COURTESY OF MURPHY’S BLEACHERS AND MILLER LITE

4 ROOFTOP TICKETS FOR CUBS VS ANGELS, JUNE 2010, COURTESY OF MURPHY’S BLEACHERS AND MILLER LITE

2 $50 GIFT CERTIFICATES FROM MAD RIVER

3 $25 GIFT CERTIFICATES FROM CLARK DOG

1 $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR JOHN BARLEYCORN

2 $25 GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR CUBBY BEAR

1 $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR HARRY CARAY’S

2 $25 GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR SLUGGER’S

2 $25 GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR YAK-ZIE’S

1 $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR BERNIE’S

2 CERTIFICATES FOR CASEY MORAN’S PRIVATE PARTY

AND… BREAKFAST AT MCDONALD’S WITH CHRIS FESTA

Guess What’s On Chris’s IPod and Win 2 Free BeadQuest Tickets!

I have about 2000 songs on my IPod.  I put them in Alphabetical Order by Title.  I’ve given 5 pairs of songs here - you have to guess what song I have BETWEEN each of the pairs. Remember, if a title is preceded with “A” or “The”, that preface doesn’t count, and you can

Please put your guesses as Facebook Comments on Festa Parties, not here on the Blog.

As a note, I like all kinds of music, and I have everything from 70s to 80s to 90s to Modern Music, from Rock to Rap to Country to Pop… no classical or jazz though.  Good luck!  Whoever gets the most right wins.  Ties will be determined by a follow up contest.  2nd Prize & 3rd Prize are free Festa T-Shirts!

#1 - What do I Have Between:
Sharing the Night Together by Dr. Hook
and
Shattered by The Rolling Stones ?

#2 - What do I Have Between:
Free Ride by Edgar Winter Band
and
Freezeframe by J. Geils Band ?

#3 - What do I Have Between:
Here Comes My Girl by Tom Petty
and
Here in Your Bedroom by Goldfinger ?

#4 - What do I Have Between:
South Side by Moby
and
Space Cowboy by Jamiroquai

#5 - What do I Have Between:
Alison’s Starting to Happen by The Lemonheads
and
All Hail Me by Veruca Salt

Good Luck!  I just thought of this when I was working out yesterday. I have no idea how hard it’s going to be (TWSS)  Any mockery of my musical tastes automatically disqualifies you from the contest.  Contest closes Midnight Tuesday.  Please put your guesses/answers as Comments on Facebook.  If you have already bought tix for BQ you can use the prize ones for friends.  If you are out of town, you can subtitute 2 Tees for the 2 BeadQuest Tix.  Of course, you can choose to just Mock Me and Not Win the Tickets if you choose!

My Observations on Super Bowl 44

1. The game seemed to fly by. Very few incompletions, penalties, injuries. Every drive was either 15 plays or a Three and Out. Whenever I turned around, 6 or 7 more minutes were gone. Did they get all their commercials in???

2. Besides the One Sack by Freeney, it almost seemed like a scrimmage drill where neither team was allowed to touch the quarterback. Also, never once did either QB even REMOTELY consider Running with the Ball himself.

3. I still can’t figure out why the Colts didn’t score more. They ran well, and Manning had a solid 300+ day, and just the one turnover. They just seemed to have VERY few possessions. And Manning looked like he was steaming after the Onside Kick.

4. The first 2 touchdowns in the game were both scored by guys whose first name was PIERRE – what on earth are the Odds of that? (Garcon and Thomas)

5. Was there any connection between THE WHO and WHO DAT? Destiny?

6. Between the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award before kickoff, Sean Payton, and Peyton Manning, we were up to our necks in Pa/eytons. Much like when the Bears played Indy, there was Peyton Manning, Eli & Archie & Cooper & Olivia Manning watching, and Danieal Manning and Ricky Manning Jr in Bears’ Secondary, we were over-Manning’d.

7. Speaking of the Walter Payton Award, and the Hall of Fame Award, and God Bless America, and the National Anthem, could they have crammed MORE ceremonies into the time immediately preceding kickoff?? A citizen naturalization ceremony perhaps? Group Wedding? Pilates Class?

8. After the goal line stand, when Indy failed to move the ball and gave it back to N.O. for a field goal at halftime, I thought that was the key to the game. The question is, in such a CRUCIAL situation, why did the 3^rd String Running Back, Mike Hart, carry the ball on 1^st and 3^rd Down? When getting 10 yards on the ground was critical, why use that time to put in the third stringer??

9. With about 5 minutes left I turned to my friend and said, “Wow, I bet there’s never been a Super Bowl with Zero Turnovers…” and just like that, was the “Pick Six” that sealed the game for New Orleans. I still have to check on that about a Super Bowl w/o Turnovers

10. Brees becomes the THIRD PURDUE QB to win the Super Bowl. Len Dawson, Kansas City, and Bob Griese, Miami Dolphins, were also from Purdue. The only other school with 3 SB QB Winners is Alabama: Bart Starr, Joe Namath, Ken Stabler. The only other schools with TWO different Super Bowl Winning QB’s are: Notre Dame (Montana, Theismann); BYU (McMahon, Young); and Stanford (Plunkett, Elway). Who’d think Purdue would have 3x more Super Bowl Winning QB’s then all the colleges in the entire state of Florida? Brad Johnson (Florida State / Tampa Bay) is the only state of Fla QB to win it all.

We are getting PSYCHED for BEADQUEST II on Saturday, February 20th, and would like to thank the 100s of people who have already gotten their tickets!!! Yes, New Orleans may be the home to Mardi Gras… and yes, the Saints are in the Super Bowl and the Bears not so much… but we all know CHICAGO is the real party capital, 24/7/365, even in the dead of winter, and SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20th is the day it’s all goin’ down, baby!!!!! The party starts at 2PM, at Murphy’s Bleachers in Wrigleyville. We will go through 9 bars and distribute out Colored, Numbered Beads at each stop. Collect all 9, and at the finale party, you will register for great raffle prizes including Cubs Tickets and Gift Certificates for Local Bars and Restaurants. And, we will have Karaoke onstage at Murphy’s! Assisting Mr. Festa in the bead-distribution will be a crew of 8 lovely BEADB*TCHEZZZZZ along with 3 BEADB*STARDZZZZ to help protect the 720 precious beads that will be tossed out at each location. As a note, we’ll have about 50min-1hr at each of the bars we stop at, and we’ll be keeping the whole group together at each stop this time. Plenty of Delicious Miller Lite will be on hand at each location!

Once we return for the Finale Party @ Murphy’s, we will have Karaoke On-Stage after 10PM at Murphy’s and then call out the raffle winners! Last Year’s Inaugural Edition of BeadQuest was a blast, with just over 1,000 people competing for the beads… this year, we’ll have More Beads, More Fun, and More Everything!!! Admission will include your badge, wristband, drink specials at each bar, and a BeadQuest T-Shirt for all pre-registrants. Once you register, you’ll be able to pick up your materials at the Festa Office, 4314 North Lincoln, the week before the event, OR, at Murphy’s, the day of the event. This Year’s BeadQuest Pub Crawl is sponsored by Miller Lite and 4 Rebels Premium Vodka and Dragon Fruit Vodka. We will have Miller Lite Features at Each Bar, and we also would like to welcome our new Spirits Sponsor for BeadQuest II, who will have Features on Mixed Drinks including a BeadQuest-Exclusive 4 Rebels Dragonfruit Mardi Gras Hurricane Drink to get you all the Vitamin C and Bioflavinoids you need for a long day of trekking thru the snow!

BUY NOW - Early Bird Ticket Discount of Just $15 through Sunday! The sooner you buy your tickets, the more you save! So, if you are looking to celebrate Mardi Gras - Chicago Style - and want to brighten up your winter, The BeadQuest Pub Crawl is the Answer!! For updates, please visit our Our Facebook Fan Page and Twitter

Festa Parties is proud to introduce 4 Rebels Premium Vodka as its exclusive Spirits Sponsor for BeadQuest II, Festa’s 2nd Annual Mardi Gras Themed Pub Crawl, to be held on Saturday, February 20th, 2010.  To complement our wonderful partnership with Miller Lite as our Beer Sponsor, we are partnering with 4 Rebels for BeadQuest, where participants will be able to enjoy Feature Drinks including a 4 Rebels Dragon Fruit-Inspired Mardi Gras Hurricane Drink, and features on other mixed drinks including both the Dragon Fruit and 4 Rebels’ flagship Premium Vodka.

For more information on 4 Rebels, please visit www.4rebels.com.  For more information on Festa’s Beadquest Event, visit www.festaparties.com/beadquest or call 773-478-3378.

Stay Tuned as BeadQuest Tickets will be going on Sale This Week!

Festa Parties’ spectacular new Mardi Gras event, BEADQUEST II, is all set for Saturday, February 20th in Wrigleyville!  Stay Tuned for more details soon @ www.festaparties.com!

A quick thank you & happy new year to everyone who attended TBOX2009! To view all of our pictures, please visit:

Our Facebook Fan Page @ facebook.com/festaparties

or

Our Flickr Photo Collection

We want to thank everyone who registered and attended who has been before, and especially thank all the TBOX VIRGINS who trusted us to make their first time special

We have special albums of Opening & Closing Ceremonies, Best Cereal Shots, and some of the Best Group Photos.  And you can book it that the final estimated total attendance was 7,000 people!

Thank you Will Byington Photography for your photos!
Thank you Chicago TwentySomething for your photos!
Thank you Metromix for your photos!
Thank you Facebook Friends & All Others who sent me photos!

There are so many people to THANK, and we will do so more on our web site, but real quick… I’d like to thank my staff who worked so hard, all year, on TBOX… to the best ROYAL COURT and INTERNS EVER… to all the participating bars and especially the ones that did the frames & stickers… to the Cubby Bear Wrigleyville for hosting us morning & night…to our great Sponsors including Miller Lite, Sailor Jerry, and the Hyatt Regency Chicago, and of course to all our customers/attendees, who made TBOX 2009 the biggest and best event of its kind ever, anywhere in the world!

thanks so much to KATIE for her LOYAL SUPPORT OF TBOX the past 5 years!!   She also went and posed and interviewed for the TBOX Metromix Article (here) and has been a great TBOX’er, dressing in great outfits, and bringing a ton of great friends!!  Thanks & CONGRATULATIONS!!!