Our team was busy working with some amazing events over the past several days! Read on and check out some of our favorite memories from EA Play 2017, Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants Party, Pittsburgh Pride’s Pride in the Street, and Steel City Con’s Special Horror Fan Edition.
EA Play – Matt Donnelly
My team members Katie, Andrew, and myself had the pleasure of being in sunny Los Angeles this past weekend for EA Play 2017. The event was designed by Electronic Arts to connect gamers all over the world, both in person and online. 
In addition to a business lounge & press area inside the venue, the Hollywood Palladium’s parking lot was transformed into a gamer’s paradise with 140+ hands-on gaming stations featuring the 2018 edition of Madden NFL, NBA LIVE, FIFA, and the overwhelming crowd favorite, Star Wars Battlefront II.
ShowClix was onsite to handle access control into the parking lot and venue for everyone including crew, staff, press and, of course, the fans! The buzz around the city was amazing, and the event turned out to be a huge success with thousands of happy fans taking advantage of the opportunity to check out the latest and greatest from Electronic Arts. Shout out to the awesome folks at EA for having us at the event!
Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants Party – Ryan Hurst
This Monday I had the pleasure of being on-site at Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants Party which was held at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the city of Pittsburgh is perhaps best-known for its popular sports teams, like the back to back Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins, one can’t deny that the city’s food scene continues to catch food critics by surprise. Our role at the event was primarily to help facilitate the admissions process, including working the box office and assisting with ticket scanning.
The party itself brings together the region’s most popular restaurants, chefs, and over 2,000 local foodies for an exclusive opportunity to taste delicious samples and rub shoulders with head chefs like Justin Severino of Cure and Morcilla, and, my all-time favorite, Chad Townsend of Millie’s Homemade Ice Cream. Every year the Best Restaurants Party continues to exceed my expectations and I love that ShowClix is a part of it!
Pride in the Street – David Kennedy
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to help with admissions for Pittsburgh Pride’s Pride in the Street, and it was definitely a fun event to be a part of. Pride in the Street is a live concert held in downtown Pittsburgh on Liberty Avenue, and this year’s featured performer was Grammy and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson.
At the event, I was with a group of five other ShowClix employees assisting with the admissions process. Four of us were handling walk-up sales for the event at any given time, and the rest of our crew were assisting with ticket scanners, helping attendees with any ticketing concerns, and just about anything else we could do to help the volunteer staff. 
I was lucky enough to be able to catch a good portion of Jennifer Hudson’s performance once our team was dismissed, and I was very impressed! Her amazing vocals, including renditions from her breakthrough role in Dreamgirls, had the crowd at high energy throughout the show. One thing is certain – I can’t wait for next year’s Pride in the Street!
Steel City Con: Special Horror Fan Edition – Aaron Crothers
This past weekend I helped run the admissions for Steel City Con’s new Special Horror Fan Edition. Steel City Con, which normally covers all facets of pop culture, focused their event on all things horror, and with some help from acclaimed haunted attraction Hundred Acre Manor, they really put together an amazing show.
The guest lineup included Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, some of the actors who played Jason and Michael Myers in the many Friday the 13th and Halloween movies, and a cast reunion for Dawn of the Dead. That last one was especially fun, since the con is located next door to the Monroeville Mall, the setting for the iconic zombie feature. 
Throw in some great vendors, some really intricate set pieces and actors from Hundred Acre Manor, and a 25ft tall demon that moved and spoke in archaic Latin, and it made for a frightening time. Plus, I got a pretty sweet Hellraiser t-shirt.