I had never been to the Republic, actually I stopped going to “clubs” on Granville years ago but this was one mighty fine lookin’ joint. Launch Party Vancouver took place on the upper level, with sponsor logos being projected onto the towering cement walls and on flat panel TVs throughout the bar.

In one corner there were demo tables setup, with each startup stationed with a sign for their company and a laptop. There was Handi Mobility, Sxipper, Something Simpler, Site Masher and Jiibe. How do I recall all these demos? Well Handi Mobility (of MyBus fame) is responsible for LiveVote.ca, which had a running poll for attendees to vote on their favourite demos of the night.

Basically I could put a poll on my site without using the fancy Wordpress plugin that I have in the past and have my readers text to vote. It’s customizable and completely FREE - no charge for creating and operating the poll and no charge (aside from regular carrier charges) for text messaging. It’s pretty fancy and watching it update in real time is mesmerizing. I also met the Aaron from @CellMap, which seems kinda nifty as well.

Throughout the evening I got to mingle and chat with some familiar faces, but I also was able to spend more time with Maura. She is Strutta’s co-founder and marketing guru who was responsible for us all being there in the first place. It was also nice to meet some of the Twiistup co-hosts from California.

The event was a huge success and I enjoyed running into folks sporting the now infamous Strutta stickers: “im in ur strutta kickn ur ass”, “To the extreme I rock a mic like a vandal,” “What, you think you’re better than me?” and something about being humble that Boris was proudly showing off.

Appies, a drink ticket, demos, schmoozing, networking, catching up and talking tech - what more could a girl ask for? Without further ado, here are some of Duane and Phillip’s photos from the evening.

The bar - Photo credit: Duane Storey on Flickr

Twiistup Interview - Photo credit: Duane Storey on Flickr

Maura from Strutta getting interviewed - Photo credit: Duane Storey on Flickr

Jordan and Lyal from Strutta - Photo credit: tyfn on Flickr

I’m a Sxip girl in my new toque - Photo credit: tyfn on Flickr

To find out more about Launch Party and startups in Vancouver, read the Launch Party Vancouver blog.