It’s Sweet To Be Elite

I have good luck with Unilocal events and being on a boat — this was like the 10^th such event for me. Good fun, people got presents. There was food, banter, and of course a bit of sun.
Game on!

Fun evening, even when it started to rain! Seeing everyone put on their Unilocal ponchos and umbrellas was classic.

Presents, drinks, snacks and foodies… Combined with sunshine… Doesn’t get much better than this! :D

A little late to the party (I promise it’s fashionable darling) but let me just reminisce on my first ever Elite Event! Prior to the night, I’d heard many stories of how great Elite events were and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.
The night involved meeting a bunch of new faces from the community I’d never met before (including Princess the Pomeranian), enjoying drinks at a lovely local bar and meeting the man behind the business, all the while sipping some cool cool cocktails on a sweltering hot Amsterdam evening!
The highlight was having Flippie, our Amsterdam community manager as host! Flippie knows everyone in the Elite community and she knows them well (even as a regular Unilocaler. trust me, she’s aware of your movements in her hood)! The evening played out beautifully; not only was it an evening for regulars to catch up but for newbies to get to know more people within the community and of course, each of us sharing tips about the best spots in Amsterdam!
But of course the best part of the evening were the presents (and the people, and the cocktails and the food), for each of us Elite members, there was a personalised gift to match each of our personalities and involvement in the community. You could really tell that every gift was well thought out and prepared with lots of love!
Although Amsterdam is not my first home, I kind of felt like I’d found another little family here as a travelling gal lost in Amsterdam. So thanks for the wonderful evening guys, I’m looking forward to the next event already!

I was in town for a few days and out of curiosity signed up for the event that happened to be held during my stay. Not knowing what to expect I took a long stroll next to the gorgeous Prinsegracht and arrived at De Huyschkaemer.
First thing I see is Unilocal name stickers, hey I recognize these from back home ( Unilocal Queens). I introduced myself to some friendly faces and it was the start of a lovey evening.
The community manager Philippine W. (aka Flippie) was a gracious host and got me immediately involved in this ice breaker game with Dennis and Fanny. We chat with each other to discover tidbits of information to introduce our mate to another person. It’s a creative way to get to know others, rather than the usual talking with the few people you already know when you are at an event (love it and I’m planning on borrowing this technique in the future!).
De Huyschkaemer is a neighhood bar located at the corner of Utrechtsestraat with some outdoor tables. It was very hot that day and if you know Amsterdam and bars /​restaurants it is much better to be in the open air than indoors during a heat wave. I enjoyed some refreshing Pimms (one of my fav drinks) and meat skewers — there was also wine and nachos.
Although the event was in the patio outside the bar, we were invited to explore the inside as well — it’s comfortable, roomy, and clean. I can definitely see myself coming to De Huyschkaemer to have some food and drinks — check out the nice space on the upper floor.
It felt like Christmas in July (this only happened in the movies or songs, no?). Flippie took the time to prepare an unique gift for everyone there — including me (!), a visitor from NYC. You know the awkwardness when you go to your bf/gf’s family holiday gathering for the first time and you’re the one standing to the side because they didn’t know that you were going to be there /​what to get for you? Not the feeling here — I was included as part of the Unilocal family and it was a delightful, unexpected surprise.
I enjoyed all the interesting conversations I had with other Unilocalers and the many new friends I met. They also were helpful and gave me some local recommendations on places to go while I was in town (i.e. Wynand Fockink, and not to skip Zaanse Schans). All we Unilocalers all have something in common, going out to places in our city (+ beyond) and sharing our experiences with others via this trusty site (
). This event was much more authentic and real than any tourist /​expat group gathering and I am happy to have been able to attend on a Thursday evening.
If you are lucky, like me, you may also get to meet Flippie’s awesome bicycle ;)
Thanks everyone for such showing me such a warm and welcoming time, I love Unilocal Amsterdam and looking forward to the next time we get catch up again!

As the newest Unilocal Elite (as of 25^th June), I was surprised to be invited to an event that mentioned individual presents for Unilocalers (including me!!) as early as July 2^nd. I had no idea what to expect in terms of activities but the ‘borrel’, as usual at Unilocal events, was generous including cheesy nachos and chicken skewers. There were jugs of Pimms: which was nice to see as I’d been watching the tennis that day (Wimbledon) and I was impressed to see that a lot of the Elites had not tried it before but seemed to like it (being a Bias Brit, Pimms tastes like Summer it’s self to me). There was also a very nice Californian White Pinot Grigio for us to taste and some festival Jopen beers which I would recommend if you are into your kraft beer. I’ve tried two of the three of the local kraft beers on offer at a recent beer festival, but really like the Mooie Nel IPA which I had not tried before and came highly recommended by our host Aad. Aad was a smiley, friendly, generous host and the name ‘De Huyschkaemer’ (Living Room) seemed appropriate. We spent most of the time outside in the lovely sunshine but the inside of the bar was just as nice. Top tip: Ask Aad about the interesting Sunday League photo to the right of the bar. ;)
We were paired up with people we did not know as a nice ice-​breaker. I was paired up with Kim V. and John G. and the idea was we would find out something new or quirky about the people we were paired up with. I found out quite a lot from this friendly pair but most interestingly (for me, and I think some how Flippie knew it!?) we were next door neighbours for 2 months and we had no idea! I thought they looked familiar! We then were exchanging stories about the crazy neighbours as well as fun facts about each other.
Flippie’s speeches, individual presents and corresponding stories were touching and very well received. There were more presents too but I don’t want to ruin the surprise! :)
I’ve been to a number of Unilocal events now but this was my third Elite event as a newbie. The ice-​breakers and small number of people at the event was cosy/​«gezellig» and lead to everyone speaking with everyone at the event so I met a lot of new (to me) lovely Unilocalers!

Well, honestly if you go you get a personalized present! Is there a better reason? Yes, actually there are quite a few of reasons to attend these celebrations as honorifics of the Unilocalers who have earned an Elite status. Our local community manager, party girl that she is, throws these events as a way to give thanks to the Elites in the Unilocal community of Amsterdam for their continuing efforts. Along with your very own special and personalized gift, food and drink is amply provided usually in a fun setting. This particular one was in a popular establishment on Utrechtstraat. It was nice to meet other elites in the community and especially another fun opportunity to hang out with Flip! Thanks for the fun!