Last
Saturday I attended a vintage style party called Putrid Cupid at Dr. Foemmel's House of Cheer and interviewed some of the heads creators of the party. The party started at 8 pm and ended at 4:40 am. While my iRobot gently sweeps, I'm trying here to tell you about the many events popped up during the almost 9 hours of party.
“In
the early 60's my great uncle Irving and great aunt Lillian brought a liquor store across the small highway from the A&W Root Beer Stand. It was a small store, and when he came back from buying the store, a local musician, concert promoter, and radio personality named Howie Sturtz, suggested he name the liquor store, Irv's House
of Cheer. My aunt and uncle had a successful lifebuilt on hard work, Howie was a successful musician who has played 7,000 one-night
concerts in his lifetime. My mother said Mr. Sturtz even played her high school prom.
They closed the store, and in 2012, when I bought this house, I decided to name it The House of Cheer. Just like a diner, or a concert, my house is a place that brings people together.
I
had no idea the house would be a center of activity as it is now. 73 parties later, I now have a family moto. My mother and father celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary. My mom said
“keep celebrating”. So, I say in Latin, Sempre in Celebrandis.
That to me is the House of Cheer, but it is nothing without my friends.”
Nolan and I met and lived in Portland, OR. We were both looking for a change of scenery and tired of the rain. We narrowed our choices down to 2, Las Vegas and Memphis. We flipped a coin (best 2 out of 3) and Las Vegas was the winner! We moved here just before Viva Las Vegas to
open our vintage store. We met Eric and Stephanie, while handing out fliers for our shop. We were invited to Church of Sinatra @ Ralph's Speakeasy, and made fast friends with everyone right away. The vintage community has been very welcoming to us, and we feel so lucky to be part of it. Moving here was the best decision we ever made. Our shop: Teenage Vice, 1225 S Main St. It's inside Amber Joys Vintage Closet. teenageviceLV@gmail.com
The first time we came to the House of Cheer was for a Church of Frank Sinatra. Eric and I were talking about old Sacramento Punk bands and
bad movies, which ended up spawning Dive-In Theater. We watch movies projected on the wall in the back yard while swimming in the pool.
This year we have 10 films slated for Dive-In Theater.
The Putrid Cupid party was fun. There were lots of people I had not met.
I bar-tended for a few hours. Tracy had a Divorce Ceremony. We smashed a cupid pinata to signify all of the rotten love he had dealt
to people in the last year. Dive-In Theater was the event that took us from party participants to party planners and creators.
JohnFallon, singer, guitarist, song writer at The Steppes and The
Laissez Fairs, has been coming to the House of Cheer since February 2013, invited originally to the House of Cheer by Kyle Kettner, for
the Church of Frank Sinatra. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvdr_hjxNRU
A room for the world
At
the party were also a Chinese couple having so much fun. They didn't look like the rest of the party's attendees. So, I asked Eric where
they come from. Eric explained it to me. He has a room he rents for people all around the world throw a company.
Themes parties
Vivian Martian met Eric and she told me some 3 years ago, Kyle, Eric's
ex-roommate introduced her to Eric. From her birthday party, which was a success, they started throwing theme parties.
Vintage parties changed her life
Talking to another girl with an interesting story on how she started
attending the parties. Before she felt like she didn't fit anywhere, any group of people. But after she was invited to one of the parties,
she got the feeling that, finally, she found her “people”.
TracyAuGoGo at Cheersville
In March of 2014, Eric grabbed me by the hand and walked me across the
street to the house that was for rent. I fell in love with the house, called the realtor immediately and moved into the neighborhood in
April. Eric wanted to choose his neighbors personally, to keep the neighborhood good and interesting. I was honored to have been the
first chosen. Upon my move in, we nicknamed our neighborhood 'Cheersville'.”
I heard Eric telling something very interesting and I decided to share it here. In his own words “There is a strange verve in this house. For a few months, I never know what was going to happen, or what I was going to make up to. At times, there were flouring musicians sleeping on the couch and floor. One morning I came out of my bedroom and there were people scattered on the floor and couch covered in blankets and sleeping bags. My roommate had brought them home from a dance convention.
I quietly went to the kitchen to make coffee, and all of the sudden,
one of the guests woke up and started talking to me. She was wearing only her bra and panties, and I just about choked on my coffee. She didn't think anything of it, so I kept talking to her and quietly thanked God for an interesting conversation over my morning coffee.
Nothing that good lasts forever. Fifteen minutes later, another girl came up to her and whispered something in her ear. The girl in
underwear looked embarrassed and said “please excuse me”. Then she put some clothes on. Oh, well.”Between raffles and kisses (at the kisses booth), they were able to raise $300 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Click here to see the photos of the party.
Eric Foemmel on google+
