Tiara Phillips invited the public to her 30th birthday party on Monday, April 20: a ’90s themed party at the Iowa City Big Grove. Instead of bringing her gifts, she requested attendees bring items such as cake mix, frosting, gift bags and blank birthday cards so she can build birthday kits to donate to the Coralville Food Pantry.
In a corner of Big Grove’s outdoor seating area from 6 to 9 p.m., about 20 people gathered for the Bitchin’ Birthday Party. With rainbow paper garlands serving as a backdrop for photos, a small television playing Toy Story on VHS, and Fruit Roll-Ups and Pixie Stix scattered on the tables, the party was festive, colorful and nostalgic. Some wore ’90s inspired outfits and accessories.
“The party was great!” Phillips, the founder of Bitchin’ Events, told Little Village. “I had hoped for higher turnout, but with me being sick and the event being rescheduled to a Monday, I thought it went great. Any chance I get to make even one person have a better day is always worth it to me.”
Attendees were discouraged from using cell phones, with the exception of taking photos. Phillips joked that anyone caught using their phone owed her $1.
Guests played Flip 7 and Fishbowl. The games helped attendees spark and engage in conversations that went beyond small talk. Inside jokes naturally formed, like saying “the greed consumes me” as guests risked drawing more cards in Flip 7.
“I definitely think that I’ve always had a natural talent of being able to talk to anyone and not being shy,” Phillips said, but I wasn’t always this way. Over time, I’ve developed social skills from several different jobs I’ve had, like being a bartender or selling beer. Jobs like that definitely help sharpen your social skills because you meet all kinds of people and you learn how to talk to just about anyone and think on your feet.”
Her kind, open energy help her engage with others, bring people together, and create a comfortable environment that fosters a sense of community and belonging. Her baking talents don’t hurt, either — Phillips provided her birthday party guests with mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, along with gluten-free snickerdoodles.
By the end of the night, Phillips had a trunk full of donated birthday items, including birthday cards, cake mix, cake pans and tissue paper that she can donate to the Coralville Food Pantry.
Bitchin’ Events began in January 2025 with a goal of providing free and low-priced stuff to do in the Iowa City area, utilizing third spaces (often the Green House in Iowa City) and building community. Since, Phillips has hosted dozens of events, including Plant Bingo, Heated Rivalry trivia, singles mixers, friends mixers, yoga mixers, a Hamburg Inn breakfast, Goals & Gossip discussions, Craft & Yap sessions, a Stuff Swap, a holiday market, pinball tournaments, book clubs, Iowa Heartlanders hockey nights, and an adult overnight at the Iowa Children’s Museum.
In September, her passion project became an official business, Bitchin’ Events LLC. Also a full-time employee at the University of Iowa, Phillips is determined to organize three to six events a month on various days of the week, at various times, and revolving around a range of interests. While she’ll occasionally request a $5-10 fee for an event, most are free to all.
“That’s something that’s very important to me, is the accessibility of things. I never want anyone to stress out about attending an event and feeling like they can’t afford to be there,” she said. “There’s really not many events that I’m charging money for, and if I do, it’s like, OK, that’s just not for you. But like, there’s many, many other events that you can go to.”
Money is not Phillips’ goal; only a couple of events have turned a profit, and she’s OK with that. Still, she often wishes she could turn Bitchin’ Events into her full-time job and devote more time to it. For craft nights, Phillips buys the cardboard, cardstock, scissors, glue, and other supplies out of her own pocket. She spends frugally because she believes that the friendly atmosphere she creates matters more than fancy supplies or decorations.
“You give people a place to go to and a warm welcome, and you don’t really need to do anything else past that,” Phillips said. “So yes, it does all come out of my pocket, but to me, it’s well worth it.”
“If you turn your hobby into a money-making side hustle, you start to think about your hobby a little differently. So right now, this is a major hobby of mine, and I do fear that if I ever tried to monetize this, that it wouldn’t be the same,” Phillips said. “Maybe if the government wanted to fund me, then we’d be good. It would be nice to be subsidized. I think I provide a lot for the community.”
Usually around 10 people attend monthly book club meetings. Crafting events tend to have around 20 to 30 attendees. For friends or singles mixers, or other events revolving around socializing, about 40 people typically go. Last July, when she held a watch party for Love Island, about 150 people showed up. In January, she invited people to join her at a Heartlanders game and around 70 people did.
There are several regulars at the events. Some have been attending the monthly book club since the very first one. Seeing how much it has brought the community together has been incredible, Phillips said.
“I never thought anyone would resonate with it as much as they do. It’s cool that the same people show up time and time again,” she said. “It’s amazing to think that I’ve made these connections and I’ve helped these people to be out in the world with each other.”
Phillips estimates most of her attendees are young adults between the ages of 21 and 35, including University of Iowa students. Every age is welcome, however, and she encourages anyone and everyone to join in on the fun.
“It just tends to skew towards the younger crowd, but I have had a lot of older folk who want to come and I’m like, ‘you can come, you’re just going to be with a lot of young people,’” Phillips said. “The thing with my community is that they are so welcome and open that it doesn’t matter who you are. You’re going to find someone to talk with at an event.”
It can be hard for adults to make friends after high school and college, even more so now with the increase in people working from home. Some people attend Phillips’ events by themselves, looking for new people to chat with, while others bring their friends along with them. With this in mind, Phillips started setting up signs at tables, encouraging the people who came solo to mingle with each other.
“There’s nothing more awkward than sitting down at a table with a group of friends and you came by yourself and you feel like, ‘well, nobody wants to talk to me,’” she explained. “So I’ve started designating locations in my events for people to meet new people and to say, hey, if you’ve come here by yourself, this is a good place to start.”
While Phillips is assisted by an unpaid intern — UI student Grace Hecox, who joined the Bitchin’ Events team in February and graduates in May — and her boyfriend Colin, who she said is useful for carrying heavy stuff, Phillips does almost all the work on her own.
“Yeah, it’s just me. So I am the marketing, I am the planning. I’m the person answering your DMs and the person answering your emails. So it can be time-consuming for sure,” she said. “But it’s like the one thing that I really love in my life right now and so it doesn’t feel like a lot of work.”
While Phillips dreams about how much more she could do with Bitchin’ Events if she had more time and resources, she is happy with all she’s achieved already. The Bitchin’ Events page has grown to over 2,700 followers on Instagram in less than a year in a half.
“At this point in time, I’ve met hundreds of people,” she said. “I’m meeting new people all the time, which is incredible.”
The next Bitchin’ Event is another iteration of the Bitchin’ Market on Saturday, May 2 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Green House. Phillips was also chosen to be the emcee for the fourth annual Coralville Asian Festival on Saturday, May 16 at noon.
The first Bitchin’ Event for June will be a picnic and s’mores gathering, which was decided by community votes as part of a Bitchin’ Bracket on Instagram in March.
