Yelp Night: Zarkana

UHHHHHMAAAAZINGGGGGG!

Upon arriving, we immediately get greeted by a cocktail waitress who gives us bottomless Sangria and beer. I mean, how did she know I was thinking, "where are the drinks gonna be at?"

Shout out to Niyen for handling the event with ease. We received a VIP tag that allowed us to enter an hour early to meet some of the performers. The general manager (sorry I blanked out on the name) discussed the history of Zarkana & gave us some fun facts. Then, some of the "Movers" came out and took pictures with us which I thought was pretty damn cool.

Drew wasn't lying when he said we were going to have some good seats. We were so close I can easily see the flying movers hovering above me. The whole show was butt clinching! I didn't even want to blink, afraid I would miss something. But also wanted to cover my eyes, afraid for the performers.

Overall, it was a a great show. Amazing production with great staff. I loved it!

What a great event!!!
Morgan and i arrived right at 5:30, and checked in with Niyen, and received our VIP badges and a gift bag, with some swanky pens and a Zarkana poster!

Drinks were served while we were in line, beer for my love, and a Zarkgria (sangria) for me! I'm not a big sangria fan, but this was DELICIOUS! Very happy girl.

We had some incredible seats, and had a Q & A session with the General Manager of the show, and had meet and greet time with some of the "movers" in the cast. Pictures were taken, and the cast and managers were welcoming, and very nice.

As for the show itself, I REALLY loved it.
I didn't find it as constantly acrobatic as some of their other shows, but highly entertaining. The acrobatic acts that were performed were phenomenal.

For me, the clowns and the movers stole the show. The cute ginger mover we met before the show had us roaring with laughter, with her bullwhip and yelling. The two clowns that came out in between each act were hilarious.

As far as the acts go, my favorites were:
The Sand artist...holy crap it was just magical to watch her work and create art so quickly, right there in front of us.
"The Wheel of Death" (2 guys in the cages/cog)...that act had me holding my breath for nearly the whole time!

I loved having a chance to hang out and chat with so many great yelpers, and have such a wonderful evening.

Thank you for such a great night everyone!

See you next time!

HELL YEAH!! Yelp hooked it up, free VIP treatment at a Zarkana Cirque Du Soleil show. SO AWESOME!!!

I haven't reached the check-in table yet and I already had a sangria in my hand. There were girls going around serving us sangrias, beers, and sodas. They kept handing it to me and at one point I'm sure I was double fisting, I only had a few just so I didn't fall asleep during the show.

After they started letting us take our seats we picked up some popcorn and the met some of Zarkana crew before the regular guest were seated. It was cool they gave us an informative presentation about Zarkana and then it was picture time with a few of the Movers from the show, they were such characters. The seats were sweet, up close.

The show itself was very entertaining, it was my first Cirque Du Soleil ever. I was wowed. Definitely amazing watching it live. It was funny and exciting.

Thanks Yelp and Zarkana for everything including the goodies. Great meeting new Yelp friends and catching up with some of those I already met. See you all at the next one.

Mainly a review of the event.

First off, thanks a ton to the wonderful cast and staff of Zarkana, as well as the cocktail waitresses, for a great time. Also, thanks to Niyen and Jando (disclaimer: I recognized Niyen and just pulled another name off the e-mail) for filling in admirably for Drew and Vicky. I was super, super psyched to be able to take my mom to this event on Mother's Day weekend of all weekends. Wooo!

So the breakdown was 5:30 check in and drinks, 6:00 super special Yelp private party in the theater, 6:30 doors open for the public, 7:00 Zarkana, and 8:30-ish try to wade through crowds to leave the theater. As soon as I got my VIP badge at check-in, I felt like such a boss. I also enjoyed that sangria and beer, plus coke and diet coke, were available during check in time and for the private talk time. I'm sure Michael K. had his fair share of sangria and then some. :)

So at 6:00, they had us go into the theater (verifying our tickets of course) and sit near the front. There was popcorn available at this time, and I gladly grabbed one to share. MC'ing the little private session was the head honcho of the whole Zarkana production, although his name and title both escape me right now. He talked about how they were originally designed for Radio City Music Hall and also had stints in Madrid and at the Kremlin in Moscow, but finally found a permanent home in Aria. Also, the motivation for this event was that they want us to spread the news about the show's retooling. About 75% of the music was redone to be more "contemporary," as well as in "CIrque" language (aka gibberish) so as to irritate people of all backgrounds evenly.

After a very brief Q&A, they brought out five of the "movers," which are the performers who are basically the actors and provide miscellaneous entertainment in the background or in between the acrobatics and whatnot. We got to take pictures with them, as I'm sure you've noticed if you've glanced at the event photos. The dude dual-wielding giant cleavers was definitely a hit. I think the others were less busy photo-wise and may have actually talked to people, which is also awesome.

Sadly, the time went by quickly, and we were instructed to proceed to our assigned seats. We all had seats in 102 or 104, which are part of the five sections at the front. I also noticed that both my tickets mentioned Yelp Elite on them, which I later decided was probably because the closer seats were distributed to Elites. For that, I definitely thank the Yelp staff again. Not that the non-Elite seats were bad at all, but man, fourth row rocked. Not only were we close to the action, but sometimes the action was literally overhead. I'd literally never experienced anything like that until tonight.

If you wanna hear more about the show itself, read somebody else's review. I was frankly a little bit tired the whole time and was lucky not to fall asleep. Aside from the dudes flying overhead on cables, I do remember a skilled tennis ball juggler, a quartet waving and throwing flags (way cooler than it reads), a tightrope act, a flying trapeze act, a Russian bar trio, a pair of dudes on a unique rotating apparatus, a group of people rolling in giant metal hoops, and a dude doing strength / breaking-esque moves.

But the important takeaway is that everything had really strong production quality with the live music, the constant action (try not to let the movers distract too much from the main act), and the humorous and audience interaction segments. If you're a Cirque du Soleil fan, then make sure to see this show eventually.

Last night's event was, in a word, magical.
From the darkened lobby where I grabbed free and tasty sangria, to the up close and personal meet-and-greet with both behind-the-scenes staff and performers, to the excellent seats and mind-blowing show, last night was amazing.

The show itself completely blew me away. I've never seen a Cirque show, and now I have no idea why I haven't been made to do so- the fact that we have performers capable of such amazing physical feats just wandering among us living in LV is simply nuts to me. For everyone who says Vegas has no culture, I beg to differ.

Sat with Allison and her guy for the Q&A, then next to the super-sweet Jennifer for the performance, who shared her chocolate with me and engaged in delightful conversation before the show started- definitely the cherry on top of an awesome evening. Show was full of jugglers and acrobats, tightrope walkers and more acrobats, flag dancers and trapeze artists, and of course, the Movers, entertaining us between scenes with their antics.

I've been bit by the Cirque bug, and can't wait to see more.
Thank you so, so much, Yelp Crew (Niyen who checked us in, Drew who undoubtedly organized it all, and Vicky who couldn't make it) and to the Zarakana performers and staff who were so friendly, gracious, talented, and entertaining. A night I will truly never forget.

Yelp Las Vegas did it once again.

*Yelp Staff - Easy enough check in. Just had to wait a few minutes to check in and get our tickets and VIP passes. And a nice gift bag.

*Zarkana Staff - From the moment you walked up to the theater, they were all helpful and smiling and greeted everyone. There were cocktail waitresses bestowed upon the floor with ample drinks of cola, sangria, beer and water. Wasn't sure how tasty that Sangria was going to be, but it was quite delicious!

*VIP tickets and seating - Amazing seats. So comfortable and roomy. Amazingly close to the stage.

*Meet & Greet with Cast Members - Amazing!! Rare opportunity to meet with some of the cast members and the people behind the show.


This was my first Cirque experience and such a great one at that! The show itself was so much fun and I enjoyed every minute of it! It is now on my must do list to attend another Cirque show. Thank you Yelp for introducing me to such an amazing experience!

OMG-O-S-H! I don't want to watch any show unless it's on a sofa again!! I mean I watched a couple of shows on a hard love seat type of thing that was just as uncomfortable as a normal chair before but I won't count those things :-/ Now this sofa is what my arse desires :-D Soft yet firm...all I needed was my snuggie, a pint of White Russian from B&J and a special someone rubbing my legs right next to me ;-) A girl is allowed to day dream and I keep my day dreams simple. What I did have was complimentary popcorn and a liquid libation, the sangria was delish!

The show itself was pretty entertaining. I've been to multiple of Cirque shows and this one is no different when it comes to the beauty, strength and fluidity of the performances.
I enjoyed the Q&A session prior to the performance. They answered my question that always popped into my mind while watching these shows, What the hell langue are they talking?!? It's their own made up langue, cirque talk. The idea isn't to alienate multiple people that don't speak English but to go ahead and alienate everyone ;-)
The show didn't have a story line or continuity, and that did bother me. I kept looking for a common thread or story and it did distract me. That's my own personal problem though. Towards the end of the show my brain gave up looking for that theme and just enjoyed the show for what it was :-)

Overall I had a blast and got to escape reality for awhile, that's what it's all about isn't it? Kudos and thanks for all the hard work and effort it took to put this shindig together ;-)

As I said before: One of the coolest Yelp events! And it was public! Check in was fun because I was handed my VIP pass. Seriously, who doesn't get excited when they get handed a VIP pass!? We also got our tickets, a really nice pen, and a pretty good sized poster.

And then, as if they felt like that wasn't nearly enough, they started handing out sangria, regular coke, and beer. My official favorite was the sangria; it was just delicious!! Then, when we got inside, popcorn and more drinks. It was really nice and oh so tasteful of them. And you know, we ain't complainin' either!

The manager continued to talk to us about the history of the show and we got to take pictures with some of the cast and their awesome costumes. I was taking hilarious pics with my homie, Mary Rose F...I even ran into my old high school friend, Sarah D.! After a good amount of time, the show began to start and I saw my first Cirque show as a VIP :D.

I heard Cirque shows always have a theme/story and I must confess..I still haven't figured it out haha!! But the acrobatics were awesome! My favorite acts are as follows:

::Aerial Acrobat Man Twins: One of the first acts. Haunting, elegant and fun as we watched them glide above our heads and perform tricks with each other. :)
::Bendable Balance Beam Girl: I mean, wow. We are already impressed watching gymnasts do the same thing on a beam that doesn't move, and they mess up all the time! But this woman was perfect, it was crazy!
::Sand Lady: At first I thought she was making a picture of NY, then I realized it was LV hahaha!! She was boss, though. Next time I play with sand, I'll know just how epically I'll fail.. :P
::Movers: If they weren't there...but really, they were too funny. It was fun to watch!

Shoutout to Niyen for being cool, and Drew for being cooler by setting this event up!!! Also, I got to meet Melissa E. and Amy K., I think they said this was their first or one of their first Vegas events!! It was really an event to remember and an amazing experience!

Three words: AHH-MAZE-ING! Ok fine that's one word and incorrect spelling but you get the gist of it. What a great Yelp Event! Right from the moment you walked onto the theater lobby you were immediately faced with a "tough" decision...sangria or beer. :) We'll let me tell you, I'm glad I chose sangria because it was probably the best sangria I've had in a very long time. After signing in at the check in table and receiving our Cirque Swag (tickets, VIP badges, posters and pens), we had a few more minutes to take pictures & mingle amongst the fellow Yelpers. Then it was off to the theater for more drinks & popcorn.

Once inside we all took a seat and with a Q&A, learned about the history of Cirque Du Soleil. It was very interesting to hear of all the places they've traveled and how they find inspiration for their shows. Being able to meet the performers was such a wonderful experience. They even stayed to mingle a bit longer & pose for pictures. It was so fascinating to see their costumes up close. It really was a great Meet & Greet. Then it was time to find our seats. Four rows from the front, Yelp definitely takes care of their Yelpers.

The show itself was just phenomenal. And my favorite Cirque show so far. To be honest, I wasn't really sure what to expect. I was wondering how it would differ from the other shows. Of course I was pleasantly surprised. If I had to sum it up, Zarkana is Cirque Du Soleil exemplified!!

The performers are so talented and the music went so well with the show. I'm glad they revamped the style of music to capture the audience. It's difficult to say which part of the show I enjoyed the most because there was so much talent on stage. But the one in particular that stood out to me was the artist that made the portraits out of sand. She was able to "draw" the Las Vegas strip in less than 20 seconds only using sand & a projection screen. (You just had to be there) Pretty amazing. Not to mention the tight rope act, a very skilled tennis ball juggler, and the performers in the large hoops, they were at the top of the list. I would definitely recommend this show to family & friends (which I have already). Now they're eager to watch it and I wouldn't mind coming back to see it again either.

Yelp, thanks so much for an awesome evening. :) Thanks to Drew for another memorable event and Niyen for making sure everything ran smoothly. You guys did a fantastic job as usual. Hands down the best Yelp event I've been to so far.

This was my first Yelp event in Las Vegas, and I must say the bar has been set very high now! What an amazing experience and one I'm very thankful to be able to be a part of!

The evening started off with a quick check-in into the event. We were greeted by Niyen. We were given VIP passes and a gift bag. We had time to enjoy free cocktails (Zangrias and Beer) and mingle. It was awesome to meet Raven in person...one of our Yelp friends!

We were ushered into the auditorium where we were given popcorn and refill on drinks. We were able to meet the Zarkana's General Manager (super cool guy) and several of the performers. They all had their own "personalities" and unique costumes. Everyone was so friendly and patient as we took pictures.

The seats we were provided were AWESOME! We were 4 rows back! We lucked out in sitting next to Mary S. and Carla M. Mary S. is an absolute riot!!! Can't wait to see them at the next event! We were close enough to see so much. It made the experience so much more memorable.

The show was the 3rd Cirque show I have seen. I think it might be a new fav. The show has lots of talent. My fav was the tight rope walker and the clowns. They were hilarious. Overall, it truly was an enjoyable show. The auditorium itself was in good shape and the entire Z staff were helpful and friendly.

Thank you Drew and Yelp for an excellent night and experience!!!