Slamsgiving is more than an annual party. It is a celebration of the greatest running joke of our generation. Simply, anything that slams belongs at Slamsgiving. A Denny’s Grand Slam? Check. Slamming drinks? Sign me up. Shrek Super Slam? A classic. Slam poetry? Break a leg.
The question is, do YOU slam?
On May 12th, 2011, Dan Harmon’s hit sitcom “Community” aired their 24th episode of Season 2, titled “For a Few Paintballs More”. For the first time, the phrase “Denny’s is for winners” was broadcasted to the world.
Years later, in the Summer of 2018, a group of undergraduate academic all-stars uncovered this phrase while watching reruns of Community and decided to adopt it as the mantra of their VUL Ultimate Frisbee Team ‘Scoober Doober Doo’. When a game was won, the team would go to Denny’s (usually Marine Drive Denny’s RIP) to celebrate the victory. They did not go often.
That same summer at the tail end of a gruelling through hike of the Howe Sound Crest Trail (which included an 11 hour hiking day, pouring rain, a nearby industrial car barge fire, 10 meters of visibility, and an attempted waterboarding-by-tent), it was proposed that the completion of this hike should be deemed A Win. The weary hikers b-lined to the North Shore Denny’s, and boy, Denny’s had never tasted so good.
From that day forth, Winning became a core part of their ethos and culture - from winning games of rec league ultimate frisbee, to surviving exams, outdoor adventures, and volitional hardship (aka Type 2 Fun) - and Denny’s, as a trusted family friendly establishment, was the natural venue to celebrate.
On September 18th; 2020, an e-mail was received from Denny’s advertising their Thanksgiving Turkey Dinner Deal - $59.99 for a roast turkey dinner for four. This planted the seed for Slamsgiving, a portmanteau of “Grand Slam” (Denny’s signature breakfast) and “Thanksgiving”. On October 10th, 2020 at 7:45pm, a humble gathering of four friends in the basement of 57 W 17th Ave in Vancouver, BC took place. They ate their Grand Slams, listened to a carefully curated playlist (Songs That Slam), watched Shrek 2, played Shrek Super Slam and generally… got Slammed.
In 2021, a new venue was found to accommodate more friends. In 2022, it was relocated again to accommodate over 30 and for the first time the Slamsgiving meal was hosted in-person at Fancy Denny’s. Over the years, Slamsgiving has grown from a humble gathering to the slamming celebration we know and love today.
In 2023, we rented our first venue and hosted over 100 slammers in the basement of the Victoria Community Hall and for the first time Denny and the Jets took to the stage (corner of the basement)