Photos: See DFW’s best bartenders shake shake shake at Standard Pour pop-up bar

All proceeds went to Trigger's Toys, which provides toys and medical equipment to children's hospitals.

Photo by Elliott Muñoz

Eddie "Lucky" Campbell gets to shaking.

DALLAS — If you’re looking for a way to give back this holiday season, mark Tuesday, December 18 down on your calendar. For one night only, two-dozen of the area’s best bartenders are taking over The Standard Pour in Uptown in true pop-up bar fashion to raise money for a local charity called Trigger’s Toys. The charity donates toys as well as medical equipment to children’s hospitals around DFW.

UPDATE: See photos from the event:

Trigger's Toys charity event at the Standard Pour (December 18)

Photos by Nan Coulter

Original story:

Whiskey Cake in Plano hosted a similar fundraiser on behalf of Trigger’s Toys in 2011. Sean Conner, bar manager at Whiskey Cake, said every year the event gets bigger. Tuesday’s pop-up “Cocktails for A Cause” draws from a wide range of household names such as Eddie “Lucky” Campbell (Chesterfield) and Abraham Bedell (Oak) and will undoubtedly bring a crowd.

“It’s like an Iron Chef kind of a thing,” said Conner. Teams of five bartenders will come in every hour to “shake drinks for the kids.” Customers will pay $10 a drink, all of which will be donated to Trigger’s Toys.

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Cocktails for a Cause Pop-Up Bar

Tue
Dec
18^th
8^PM

The Standard Pour
2900 McKinney Avenue
Dallas, TX

The term pop-up bar refers to an instantaneous business that is here today, gone tomorrow. Pop-up bars or restaurants often occur in vacant building spaces or temporary structures like a tent. In the case of Cocktails for a Cause, The Standard Pour will discontinue business as usual from 8 p.m.-2 a.m., operating as a private party that is open to the public.

Bryan Townsend founded Trigger’s Toys in 2007 after losing his job to a deteriorating economy. The charity is named after his Labrador Trigger, whom Townsend brought with him while visiting local children’s hospitals. What began as a hobby to fill time forever changed Townsend’s life, he said.

“I was leaving these hospitals wishing I could give back,” he said.

In the first year Townsend decided to establish a non-profit, he raised $2,500 for toys, threw a Christmas party for the kids at Baylor Our Children’s Health and, with the couple hundred dollars remaining, bought specialized walkers for two children who were born without forearms. Townsend is currently developing a grant program through Baylor that will help families cover co-pays and other medical-related costs.

Townsend has already accumulated $10,000 for Trigger’s Toys prior to Cocktails for a Cause through sponsorships for the event. Now serving as southern regional manager for St. Germain liqueur, Townsend recruited 13 other alcohol companies – Tito’s Vodka, Chopin Vodka, Pyrat Rums, Larceny, Farmer’s Organic Gin, Crown Royale, Fords Gin, Aviation Gin, Nolet’s Gin, Pearl Vodka, Knob Creek Whiskey, Glazer’s, and Dulce Vida Tequila – which each donated to the charity. In return, the mixologists at The Standard Pour Tuesday will be crafting cocktails featuring those brands.

Guest bartenders for Tuesday evening include: