05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Dance your heart out, in bed by 9: Toronto's booming daytime party scene is reshaping how we socialize
At their best, raves strip social interactions down to their most elemental components: music, movement and proximity. They offer permission to let go, move freely and lose yourself without judgment. There's a raw solidarity in a stranger spraying a cooling mist on you and then fanning you down with a nod and a sincere smile that says, it looked like you needed that. Even if it's fleeting, the connection is powerful.
Such moments changed Matthew Campoli's life, and he believes that you do not need alcohol or any other substance to create them. 'You don't need to escape to feel good. We're trying to show people they can have that same energy, that same connection, completely sober,' said the co-founder of daytime rave series The Coffee Party, in a phone interview two days before their first outdoor event at Stackt Market on May 4. 'The goal is to give people a space to meet their next friend, business partner, even their next relationship, all without having to numb themselves.'
