DenverPost.com - ENTERTAINMENT -
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Published on: 12/9/2005
Last Visited: 12/9/2005
From left, Kirsten Moorhead, Sandja Brugmann, David Hieb (event producer) and Siriwan Sellers pose at the 2004 Chillin Black Tie party at the Luna Hotel.
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It's the highlight event of the year for David Hieb, managing director for ChillinTime productions, who organizes his "Chillin"' parties eight times a year.Hieb started the series in 2001 as a means to introduce his network of friends; at the time, he lived in Boulder and worked in Denver and found that many of his like-minded pals from both cities didn't have many opportunities to meet.
Today, the party series has more than 1,000 regular attendees and their varied guests, focusing on a well-heeled crowd of young professionals who gather to drink, date, and swap cards and connections.
"It's primarily a group of 25-to-45-year-olds from Denver who want to get out in a no-attitude atmosphere," Hieb says."It's not a traditional networking scene, and it's very genuine."
Hieb picks out new or popular locations for each of the monthly events, from restaurants like Sparrow, 9th Door and Boulder's Bacaro to lounges like Tryst, Sky Bar or Vinyl's rooftop patio.Hieb typically schedules a break in the fall to help build excitement for the annual holiday event, and has high hopes for Saturday's bash.
"I always want people asking me about the next event," he says.
He's hoping for a crowd of 400 or more on Saturday, including the usual singles crowd, plus a high percentage of couples who attend because of the charity involvement.