About Bottoms Up Edition
Sevening (v.): the act of showing up after seven(ish), for your people, your community, and honestly yourself in Essex County. This week the definition’s got a garnish, a twist, and a whole lot of lip liner. In need of the original? It’s still all out in our About Time Edition.
Clinks glass. Waits for the room to quiet down. It does not.
Well, MMMMM, hey there, Essex County! Fix your face, fix your drink, because your gzurl has arrived and zhe is BOOKED, BUSY, and pouring generously.
It’s your new fave DQ, Beverly Arridge, and no, bubblies, that entrance was not an accident, I totally workshopped it. But you can call me Bev, my friends do, my enemies wish they could. Now raise whatever’s in your hand, bubblies, because we are doing this the right way. Bottoms up.
Listen up, my bubblies, (un)forever yeong is 86’d, and so is the rest of the shift, every last one of them, and frankly it is a culinary emergency. Turns out when a whole town rolls out ten straight days of prix fixe menus and meal deals, somebody is contractually, legally, spiritually required to eat every single one of them, and apparently that somebody is my entire crew.
So, the (s)evening shift sent up their most fabulous, delectable asset. That’s me, Bev Arridge, resident bevie correspondent, part-time destroyer of a well-plated appetizer, full-time icon. I read a menu like nobody’s business. And I mean nobody’s. But this week, apparently, I am reading you an entire event calendar while balancing a tray, a wig, and everyone else’s business.
Here’s some of what got poured, plated, and performed last week: a bingo battleground, a cellar karaoke session, a goth dance floor, a seaside cake class, a queer variety show, and an open mic that let it ALL out, meowing included. Essex County did not miss a single pour while I was busy polishing glasses backstage. As if she would. As if I’d let her.
But this week, we are not letting anything out. We are savoring Beverly (the city, bubblies, not me, though I’m honored you’d think of me) for Restaurant Week, so every single event on this week’s list is happening in Beverly too, so you can hit the tasting menu and the nightlife menu. We are sipping slow, gnoshing slower, and taking our sweet, glamorous time with every single morsel and swig served to us. Beverly set an overflowing table and did not skimp on a single course, so loosen the top button, unclench the corset, and let’s eat. Let’s drink. Let’s absolutely make a scene doing both.
August 14-23, 2026
Beverly Restaurant Week
TEN DAYS, my bubblies. Ten whole days of Beverly serving looks and serving food, and I have never been thirstier and hungier in my life. The Greater Beverly Chamber of Commerce and Beverly Main Streets poured the entire town into one glorious tasting menu, coffee to fine cuisine, pastries to pizza, and every delicious stop in between. Sixteen local businesses are pulling out their best prix fixe menus and meal deals, so clear your calendar and locate your stretchy pants, because this is not a one-and-done situation, this is a marathon in heels. Order the thing you’ve been eyeing. Order two. Order dessert first, I won’t tell. Beverly’s pouring the vibes, you’re covering the check, and don’t forget, every glass gets raised before every plate gets cleared. Bottoms up, then bottoms out. It is worth every single bite.
August 19, 2026
$1 Movie Series – Puss in Boots at 6:30 PM
A whole family screening for one single dollar, and no, soda pops, that is not a typo (as if!), that is The Cabot being generous with your night in a way even I respect. Bring the kids, bring your inner child, bring your own popcorn budget because you saved it all on the ticket. Extra extra extra butter, puh-leez and thank you. This is Puss in Boots on the big screen, boots, sass, and a cat committing harder to a bit than most people commit to their own New Year’s resolutions, myself included. Wait, what? Low stakes, low cost, unreasonably high charm. Sometimes the best sevening is the cheapest one, and this one’s almost basically on the house.
Making Reels: Instagram Edits and Social Media Video 101 at 6:30 PM
No experience, no problem, bubblies, and trust me, I know a thing or two about walking into a room with zero preparation and leaving with a following. Beverly Community Access Media (BevCam) is hosting a one-hour crash course for small business owners and solopreneurs who want their Reels to actually work instead of just sitting there like a flat champagne. Clutch my pearls! You’ll learn trimming, text, music, and transitions using Instagram’s own built-in tools, no fancy software required. Think of it as a recipe class where the dish is your brand and the plating is a fifteen-second clip. Walk in unsure, walk out ready to serve looks weekly. Make Beverly Restaurant Week a star!
August 20, 2026
Sip ‘n Sketch at 6:30 PM
This. Now THIS, bubblies, this is speaking my entire language with a capital L. Montserrat College of Art is hosting a relaxed evening at The Bower with instructor Matt Dorado, walking you through graphite and charcoal fundamentals over a jazz and coffeehouse soundtrack that could make anyone look artistic. Complimentary adult beverages are included, because nothing steadies a shaky sketch line quite like a little liquid courage, and 21+ only means the whole room stays deliciously grown. All supplies provided, zero pressure to be the next great portrait artist. Just you, a glass in hand, and a smudge of charcoal on your favorite top by the time the night’s through.
Improv Night at 7:00 PM
The Cabot is bringing the funny to Off Cabot with a live improv showcase built entirely from your suggestions, and bubblies, whatever chaos you shout out from row three becomes the scene, which honestly describes my whole personality. Games, sketches, and the particular thrill of watching performers build a whole story out of a single word you screamed after two drinks. No two nights are ever the same, which means no two rounds of laughter are either. Come thirsty for comedy, leave hungry for the next stop on our Restaurant Week list. Either way, we are winning tonight, so let’s get satiated.
August 21-22, 2026
Oh ohh oohhh, THIS is the entree, the main event, the whole reason I put on real eyelashes today. Siren of the Circle and The Betsi Feathers are docking at Off Cabot for a naughty, nautical burlesque weekend in Beverly, and I will absolutely be in attendance, front row, tipping generously, because that is simply the assignment. Friday brings the Stripwrecked Showcase, Saturday brings Shiver Me Tassels, and both nights bring a full bar for the grown and sexy 21+ crowd, tips appreciated and very much encouraged, as they should be everywhere, always, forever. Feathers, sequins, a splash of rebellion, all served with a side of seafaring spirit and a garnish of pure chaos. Pace yourself or don’t, bubblies. I certainly do not.
The Mavericks & Friends at 8:00 PM
The Cabot is serving up a Grammy-winning main course with The Mavericks, the country and Latin-rock band known for genre-blending sound and a horn section that hits like a top-shelf pour straight down the gullet, in the best way. This is a full-bodied live show, rich, layered, and built to fill up the whole room the way a good glass of red fills up a night that started with good intentions and ended with three encores. Whether you’re a longtime fan or just here for the horns, this is a concert that pairs beautifully with a night out and of course, some bevies and apps.
August 22, 2026
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – Extended Edition at 6:00 PM
Twenty-five years, yup, twenty-five years of this extended edition being the gold standard, and The Cabot is putting Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring back on the big screen exactly where an epic like this belongs, next to a very large tub of popcorn and possibly some vino or beer, I don’t judge. This is a long pour of a movie, rich, and worth every extra minute the theatrical cut so rudely left out. Bring snacks, bring patience, bring whoever you’ve been meaning to convert into a fan for the last two decades. Some things only get better with age, bubblies. Present company absolutely included. Can’t believe I’m 25… again.
ROCK OF AGES at 8:00 PM
North Shore Music Theatre is shaking up the Sunset Strip circa 1987, aspiring rocker Drew, small-town dreamer Sherrie, and a fight to save a legendary rock club, all set to hits from Bon Jovi, Journey, Poison, and more, which is essentially my entire pregame playlist. This is a jukebox musical, bubblies, which means the whole night is basically a mixed drink of your favorite songs poured into one glorious, big-haired storyline. Bigger vocals, bigger wigs than mine, and a romance worth rooting for the whole show through. Come for the nostalgia, stay because you cannot help but sing along, loudly, off-key, unbothered. It’s definitely a beer and cheeseburger kinda night.
August 23, 2026
CatVideoFest 2026 at 3:00 PM
While I wait for my next forever kitty cat, let’s get to closing out the week exactly how it should, my bubblies, with cats. The Cabot is screening its annual curated compilation of the internet’s finest feline content, and every ticket benefits local animal welfare organizations, so this is a dessert you can feel good about ordering twice. This is the lightest, fluffiest course on the whole menu, a palate cleanser after ten days of savoring Beverly at every possible turn. No plot, no stakes, just pure unfiltered joy on a big screen for a very good cause. Bring the whole family, bring your favorite cat lover, bring tissues if you’re the sentimental type, I already have mine. Oh my, I really need to find a kitty cat. You do too. Meow’s the time.
Bev sets down the tray. Fluffs the wig one final time. Refuses to leave without a proper close.
And THAT, bubblies, is how you set a proper table. Don’t consider this a substitution, but more like I am giving the main course, and bubblies, isn’t that the whole point of a good sevening.
We will keep you fed, hydrated, and full. And always will. But that’s just some of what’s on the menu in Essex County this week; the full lineup is all out on the event calendar. CC members, submit a member marketing request and let your event join the pour.
Not on the newsletter yet? That’s the one thing you still need to order. Get on it. And follow us on the socials, @creativecollectivema and @creativecollectiveexplores, both, every week, no exceptions, that’s not a suggestion, that’s a mandate from your host.
Until next week, Essex County. Stay sevening. You know where to find us. We’re everywhere. So is whatever’s in your glass.
— Beverly (Bev) Arridge, two parts garnish, one part icon, bottoms up and out, from the (s)evening shift.
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