GAAM Love Night was a time to celebrate love of friends, partners, and –of course- video games! Held at the contemporary Aloft hotel, 400 visitors gathered together to party and play the night away. Every GAAM event is unique but one thing does not change, it ss GAAM’s desire to be original and do good! For this event, I’ll share how GAAM raised money for local LGBTQ group, JASMYN, and how a group of invitational GAAM artists got together to give visitors a token of our love.

Traditionally, GAAM features artists who create and donate one-of-a-kind creations inspired by video game favorites to go up for auction for charity. GAAM Love Night was no different, but unlike the main GAAM event, the Love Night found a creative way to raise money by auctioning off GAAM Stars for a group date like no other! Promised with a night of fun, winners threw down cash for a good cause. There’s always a few surprises thrown in to every event. For Love Night, winning bidders even got bottles of Carve Vodka to take home!

There’s always some element of art at every GAAM event, and I’m very proud and blessed to say I had the chance to head up the art direction for Love Tokens for this year’s GAAM Love Night! Taken from the early 19th century concept of ‘love tokens’ that were used to share one’s affection with another, I combined this idea with my love for games to create GAAM Love Tokens. These tokens featured characters from Overwatch, Sailor Moon, Zelda, and Final Fantasy for attendees to share with a special someone or take home as a keepsake of a fun night! To make this happen, I had an amazing team of talent to create the art for each token. Artists include: Fluffy Butt Arts, Kami Comics, Hannah the Bird, and even GAAM founder himself.

To get a special love token, attendees took part in silly challenges like “do your best Fort Night dance” or “recite a haiku, sonnet, or rap to the closest person”. It was a great way to spark some fun throughout the night. If you would like a Love Token, you never know when they may show up again! Limited GAAM swag has a way of rolling over to the next event!