A Not-So-Bitter Ball
For Conext: This is my experience review about the singles mixer I attended on Valentine’s Day weekend hosted by one of Atlanta’s popular radio and talk shows, Q99.7’s The Bert Show.
Valentine’s Day is the one time a year when everywhere you look there’s love in the air. You walk into Walmart, Target, or Publix and there are overly large stuffed animals, enough sweets to give you a cavity for a year, and so many flowers. When so much love is being thrown in your face, as a single person you can’t help but feel bitter about what you may not be receiving on the oh-so-celebrated Valentine’s Day. Well, this year Q99.7 and The Bert Show decided to bring back their notorious Bitter Ball to Atlanta but with a twist on the name. This year the title was the Not So Bitter Ball.
The Not-So-Bitter Ball was being held at Tongue & Groove in Buckhead. At this event, you got the chance to meet the morning show cast and mingle with other singles that showed up. The theme of the night was to make sure even single people in the city should have some fun and go out on the busiest weekend of the year. They were advertising free goodies, a live Tinder segment, no entry fee, and no ticket prices.
Being that I am new to the city, single, and an avid listener of The Bert Show I decided to sign up and go. But what no one talks about when trying to go to a singles mixer in a city that you’re unfamiliar with is trying to get someone to go with you. So, I did what any normal 21-year-old would do in this situation, I took my mom. Yes, I said it. My Mother. Now some may be opposed to my wing woman of the night, but I found it hilarious. When we arrived, we were greeted by a host that informed us where everything was going to be for the night. We then walked over to the goodie bag area, which had some *cough* adult toys *cough* and a few other nick knacks to go with said toys. (It was then I started to regret the decision of bringing my mom but being the trooper that she was, she just laughed it off.)
The layout of the lounge was very open. The bar was at the center of the room and wrapped around in a circular layout which allowed you to approach in every direction. There was a VIP section behind the DJ booth where the cast, radio members, and their guests were able to mingle without being in the crowd with us commoners. The cast was very welcoming to anyone who approached for pictures and just to say a quick hello. My mom got extremely nervous around Moe Mitchell, but I mean if you met the guy in person, you would be too.
There wasn’t a lot of mingling going on between patrons. I would say this happened because the ratio between men and woman were not even close to the same. There were also surprisingly a lot of couples who attended. (Which in my opinion is kind of selfish considering it was a SINGLES mixer, but hey who was I to judge?) In the end, my mom and I had a blast. She got hit on more than I did, we met the awesome cast of The Bert Show, and I will always have the fantastic story of telling my kids how I took your grandma to a singles mixer, and thank god that isn’t where I met your dad.
