Last Friday, thousands of excited people partied with us in our coworking and technology hub at this year’s Cruzio Open House Extravaganza 6.0. Community members sipped complimentary beverages, danced to fantastic tunes and enjoyed delicious food as they admired the wonderful work our Cruzioworks members do every day. Let’s take a quick tour:
Cruzio’s own Ani Zickuhr’s animated depictions of cats lined the walls.
Cruzio welcomed art enthusiasts, as visitors browsed pieces by local artists Doug Ross, Verna Knapp and Cruzio’s own Marketing Associate, Ani Zickuhr. Ani’s pride and joy, her adorably animated depictions of cats, lit up the entry wall, welcoming our guests into the party.
Through the door into our atrium, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing and our fantastic Cruzio volunteers were pouring up delicious free local brews and wine for all of our beloved community members. Their India Pale Ale was particularly tasty, and very popular with everyone who had a sip.
Community members gather to enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of the OHE
From there, guests walked into the Cruzioworks main event space, where our works members showed off their passions, projects and professions. Visitors could hear from city council candidate Robert Singleton, get advice from co-active life coach Karen Gray, and learn about the potential future of a light rail in Santa Cruz county from Colin Young, Tom Padula and Autumn Cardone–all of whom are Cruzioworks members.
And of course, we were on hand to talk about fiber internet in Santa Cruz, and how all of us can take part in bringing the future of internet into their communities. (hint: the survey here is a good place to start!)
Lisa and Alana educate visitors on the benefits of fiber internet at the Cruzio booth
When hunger struck, guests could head out back. There, the Ate3One food truck, coordinated by local and wildly popular food truck company Food Trucks-a-Go-Go, was serving up delicious meals like Philly Cheesesteaks, Naughty Fries, and Garlic Shrimp tacos.
Brian is ready to enjoy a delicious Philly Cheesesteak at the Ate3One Food Truck.
Throughout the evening, everyone in the building was enjoying the smooth sounds of the always fantastic bluegrass band Full Moon Rooster. And in the band was Cruzio Team Member, and Field Operations Lead (we all like to have a wide array of abilities here at the office!), Ariel Carter showing off her wonderful talent.
Full Moon Rooster played bluegrass tunes all night long
The event was a spectacularly fun evening. As everyone shuffled out the door, their laughs echoed through the halls. Another fantastic OHE gone by.
The Cruzio crew celebrates a successful night.
One last thing: we want to give a tremendous thank you to Alana, Brian, Ani, Andrew, Robert, Natalie and Shannon. They’re the Cruzio staffers who worked hard all night, and helped to make this event a reality. That’s the crew from left to right in the picture above.
Not pictured above is Andrew’s mom Lisa, who was instrumental in helping us with everything from cleanup to running booths. Thank you Lisa!
And a special shout-out to Andrew, who’s hard work and determination was integral in making this event happen. Without his blood, sweat and tears, the OHE wouldn’t have been half the event we all enjoyed.
Andrew makes his eloquent speech at the end of the night.
Cruzio staffers Colin, Alex, Dave and Ali kick back and enjoy the night
