Celebrating ATEEZ’s Third Anniversary - Boba Style!

Whether in South Korea, or more recently sprouting up in North America and abroad in the last couple of years, fans are no strangers to holding events that either celebrate the birthday or debut anniversary of their favorite Korean artists. Ranging from cafe/boba shop events, donations to charities, subway/public transportation advertisements, and large scale projects to have a message displayed on notable places like Times Square in New York, fans go the extra mile to celebrate their beloved idols and give a chance for other fans around the area to gather, take pictures, and be among others who appreciate their favorites.

Thanks to the hosts, San Diego ATINY and The Korean Rose, The Kraze had the chance to go behind the scenes, take part in, and cover one of their events. In celebration of ATEEZ’s third anniversary, San Diego ATINY brought their third-ever cupsleeve event, but with a Halloween twist! Halloween decorations adorned the inside of The Korean Rose as well as outside, giving it a cute but spooky vibe to the event. As this event celebrates ATEEZ, pictures and posters were also placed around the area, leaving no spot untouched to really emphasize that it was definitely an ATEEZ day. 

But that’s not all! Aside from visitors getting the chance to look around at the decorations, they were able to look around at several vendors who were selling fan-made and fan-crafted K-Pop merchandise that are one of a kind. From stickers, keychains, pins, accessories, and big items like bags and tumblers, there was so much to choose from. Feeling hungry? While waiting for drinks, The Korean Rose is located right next to a Korean barbecue restaurant and supermarket that also had its own cafeteria bustling with different foods and desserts to choose from. If that wasn’t something that visitors were interested in, located inside the supermarket is a K-Pop store filled with albums, accessories, stationary, and anime-related items. 

Diving deeper into the event itself, San Diego ATINY created an ATEEZ and Halloween theme for the cup sleeve, which was free for those who purchased a drink from The Korean Rose. What made this event particularly special was that The Korean Rose curated two special drinks that would only be available during the event. Named “Deja Boo” (a play on words for their song “Deja Vu”) and “Black Cat,” both drinks were nods to songs ATEEZ previously released and aligned with the Halloween theme. Aside from the cup sleeve, freebies of an event ticket, a photocard, and photo strip were included. However, if you were the first twenty people at the event, an exclusive transparent Hongjoong fan and Jongho PVC bank card were available in the freebie bundle. Prior to the event, San Diego ATINY did hold reservations for the exclusive bundles on a first-come first serve basis for 50 attendees. 

For safety precautions and to minimize overcrowding, wristbands were passed out and masks were required for entry into The Korean Rose. Numbers were called out depending on the number listed on the wristband. If an attendee was lucky enough and paying attention to their wristband, if the wristband had a special sign on it, they received a fully sealed set of ATEEZ’s latest album, ZERO: FEVER Part.3. San Diego ATINY also had extra sets of albums that attendees were able to take if they were interested. 

After picking up a cup sleeve and freebies, there were photo areas for attendees to take pictures of themselves and their drinks at The Korean Rose. Attendees were also able to participate in a charity raffle to win prizes ranging from albums, merchandise, and fan-made goods that were all ATEEZ-related. All proceeds for the raffle went to the Helen Woodward Animal Center to help animals in need. After the end of the event, together San Diego ATINY and the community raised over $400 to go towards the animal shelter. 

“I have been doing ATEEZ cup sleeve events for a while now. I started them because of my endless love for the group and I wanted to share that love with others. It was a way to connect with people that also adored ATEEZ as much as I do. I would say my favorite part of any event is brainstorming designs for the cup sleeves and freebies. It is also a lot of fun decorating but also the most stressful part! I am really grateful to all of my friends that put up with me before the event when I am a giant ball of stress and, of course, to The Korean Rose staff who are always there to cheer me on.” - Penny Everett, Founder of San Diego ATINY

Despite the changing weather, many came out to celebrate ATEEZ’s third anniversary, some coming from out of town, drawing in over 100 people in attendance. Those who came left with a handful of goodies, merchandise, great boba, and even an album or two (as San Diego ATINY had a large box full of previous albums to give away). Altogether, it made for a very successful event to celebrate ATEEZ’s third anniversary and a great opportunity for those around to mingle with other ATINY alike. 

A large and special thanks to San Diego ATINY, The Korean Rose and their staff, the volunteers, and all the vendors who made this wonderful community event happen! Without the hard work and effort from the kind people working the event, this would not be successful. 

For more insight, The Krazecast hosts Roxy and Jay talked about their experiences at fan-led events such as cupsleeve events and giving tips on how to possibly navigate finding events that may be in your community in the latest episode of The Krazecast!