Latest news with #daytimeparties
South China Morning Post
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Pop-up afternoon parties in Hong Kong proving a hit for health-conscious clubbers
Woo and Sandy Lam Sin-yi, who founded Riffs, a music discovery and ticketing platform, had been thinking about daytime parties since December 2024, but did not come across 'a good venue and DJ pairing that we thought might make some noise', Woo says. 'Every time we go clubbing, we get so drunk and can't do anything the next day,' says series co-founder Isaac Woo Siu-hin, a commercial and music video director. 'An afternoon event would give us time to party, have dinner with friends and still go home [at a reasonable hour]. It's a healthier lifestyle, which I think a lot of people in Hong Kong are also looking for.' The idea is to create interesting events for Hongkongers looking for fun things to do on weekend afternoons. Their 'Social Club Series' consists of pop-up parties that are themed around a distinctive music genre and have a specific dress code. They are always held during the day and at a different venue only disclosed to ticket-holders. Tired of staying out all night at the weekend and being hungover on Monday morning, two clubbers and music industry professionals in their late 20s have turned to the new global 'coffee rave' trend – which turns cafes into dance clubs – to infuse some light into Hong Kong's nightlife. That changed in March, when they learned that Dcr Milda, a Toronto-based DJ born in Prague to Vietnamese parents, was in town to spin at a nightclub. Lam quickly DM'd him on Instagram, and she and Woo put the event together in less than a week while also getting local DJ Hyphen on board. They mostly invited their friends for a small and intimate party, but had 'a strong instinct that we needed to film the first event to see if anyone would resonate [with this kind of party]', she says. The first party took place at Islet Coffee Lab in Central on a Sunday afternoon, on March 16, with an all-white dress code. Woo's most popular video of the event has since racked up 159,000 views on Instagram, and the Social Club Series page has already garnered more than 5,000 followers. Since then, there have been three more editions: two on Sunday afternoons at coffee shops in Sheung Wan and Wan Chai, and one on a Saturday afternoon at a craft beer bar and restaurant in Central. Both coffee and alcoholic drinks were available. Lam thinks each party having a dress code is 'part of the fun'. She explains that the second party's theme was 'sporty', with most attendees wearing tennis outfits thanks to a tennis racquet in the centre of the promotional poster. Though the dress code was a looser rule at the third and fourth events – wearing green and basketball shirts, respectively – many attendees still followed it. Lam says that 70 per cent of tickets for each party typically sell within the first 30 minutes. All four parties so far have sold out within 24 hours of their announcement. Social Club Series attendees are mostly in their 20s and 30s, although Woo recalls seeing a few 50-year-old women dancing at the second party – he reckons they found out about it on social media. He believes that revealing the event venues only after ticket purchases generates a sense of mystery. 'We like to surprise our attendees, who like us because of our concept of pairing different venues with different genres of electronic dance music. 'Every time, there are people who don't want to leave and still want to go on partying, which is very encouraging to us.' The fourth party in the Social Club Series was held in a craft beer bar in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: Social Club Series But it is also about creating something new and exciting. 'We know some restaurants [in Hong Kong] have been struggling with business in the afternoons, so this can be a win-win situation for both our attendees and venues, which can make use of off-peak hours to do something that brings joy and good business,' Lam says. On June 21, the duo will host one of their biggest events. They will turn Messina and Peak Pizza, two interconnected restaurants on The Peak, into a mini music festival, with two stages and a maximum capacity of 300. The event is a collaboration between Social Club Series and Black Sheep Restaurants , one of Hong Kong's biggest hospitality groups. 'Initially, we were thinking of just hosting the party at the pizza restaurant, but when we visited the site, we were inspired to do it at both shops,' Woo says. 'We want to give different formats and experiences to surprise the crowd. 'We will fly in DJs from Thailand and the Philippines, and maybe one more from overseas, but the rest of the line-up will be Hong Kong DJs. We want to draw in people with international acts but put the spotlight on local DJs, too.' Daytime party-goers have fun at Social Club Series' third edition, at a coffee shop in Wan Chai. Photo: Social Club Series One stage will have house music, Afro house and open-format music, while the other will consist of more hard-hitting genres like hard hip-hop, UK garage and baile funk. Tickets for the event sold out in 10 minutes, so the duo added one more date, on June 22. 'We're starting small, but as we learn more about the scene, hopefully we can evolve into something bigger,' says Lam. 'I think there's a lack of Asian faces when it comes to headlining acts at the bigger festivals in Hong Kong. There are a lot of good DJs locally and in other Asian cities that people should know, and as we develop our project that belongs to these regions, we want to promote them more.' Advertisement
CBC
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
No hangovers, home by 9 p.m.: Why some Canadians are choosing daytime parties over nightlife
Imagine getting all the exhilaration of a night out — the euphoria of losing yourself in the music, the thrill of dancing shoulder to shoulder with strangers, and the joy of meeting new people — without the 4 a.m. crash or the dreaded next-day hangover. That's the idea behind a social trend that's catching on around Canada: daytime parties. Across the country, organizers are rethinking what it means to party, flipping the script on traditional nightlife culture by challenging the idea that celebrations must happen after dark. "There was nothing going on in that time frame, from 11 [a.m] to 3 p.m.," Zohaib Aziz told The Current 's host Matt Galloway. "And we just said, 'Why not give it a try?'" Aziz is the co-founder and partner of The Coffee Party, a Toronto-based daytime dance event. These events feature many of the same elements as a typical club night — DJs, dancing, and a lively atmosphere — but with a shift in focus. Alcohol is often swapped with non-alcoholic beverages, shifting the activities toward joy, connection, and well-being rather than excess. WATCH | Montreal is waking up to daytime parties: Coffee, croissants and good sound — daytime parties are popping up in Montreal 1 month ago Duration 2:25 In Montreal, an event called Croissound brings that energy to local cafés, hosting pop-up dance parties at a different spot each time. With DJ sets from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., it blends coffee culture, house music and daytime dancing into one lively experience. And at the end of May, inspired by this viral trend, organizers in Nova Scotia brought the alcohol-free daytime dance scene to downtown Halifax with a community coffee party at a local restaurant. For attendees like Geraldine Hinojosa, a partygoer at Toronto's Tech-Noon event, the change is refreshing. "Since I became 30 a few months ago ... I am trying to do more daytime activities because I feel partying at night, it's more like drunk people, drugs — [the] kind of things that I don't feel aligned right now with," said Hinojosa. "I feel this type of event inspired me more to really enjoy what I like, [which] is dancing and networking." Aspiring DJ Luis Diaz, who also attended the event, echoed the sentiment. "A day party is a pretty cool idea because not everyone wants to be [out] on nights. The vibe inside is pretty cool, all the people [are] nice," he said. Promoting a healthier lifestyle Aziz, who once identified as a "big party guy," said he used to love going out until 3 a.m. But that all changed during a personal fitness journey that helped him shed over 40 pounds and re-evaluate how nightlife fit into his routine. "I want to be up early in the morning, go to the gym, get my workout in and be in bed by nine, 10 p.m.," he said. But stepping away from the traditional club scene also meant losing a key way to meet new people. "That was one thing I was noticing by not being in the club scene because that is where I met a lot of my friends," said Aziz. "I think it's so important to still meet new people and just get yourself out there [to] talk to strangers." Inspired by that need, Aziz and four of his friends launched The Coffee Party in November 2024. The goal was to address what he describes as a "lack of spaces for people that still want to go out and party and enjoy a sober day out." The Coffee Party events, according to Aziz, bring a unique style — he calls it a "farmer's market mixed with a party." Guests are greeted by coffee stations, live art and food vendors offering cookies and pastries, with the option to have an espresso martini. From there, they head to the main floor, where local Toronto DJs keep the party going all day. Aziz and his team are using the platform to promote health and wellness too. Many events begin with fitness activities like pilates, yoga, or interval training workouts. They've also partnered with Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to support the Sunrise Challenge, a national initiative raising funds for mental health research and care. Giving the joy of partying to everyone In Vancouver, Home By Midnight has a similar mission. The early-evening dance party was created in 2018 by Rachel Morris and her co-founder Mikael Bingham. Their events run from 8 p.m. to 11:45 p.m., designed to give people a full club experience while still getting home at a reasonable hour. The idea came to the two friends after they became parents and began missing the dance floors of their twenties, but the late nights that once came easily were no longer sustainable while raising children. "The idea that that kind of connection over music wouldn't be available to me anymore as a parent or in this new phase of life — I mean, it's devastating if you're a fan of music, and if you are a fan of collective experiences and bonding over something like that," said Morris, who is also the managing director of Home By Midnight. "[What] all of these movements are about, is still making space for people, no matter their circumstances, and encouraging people that this connection over music does not need to just exist in that one particular format that we were used to." Aziz has seen that demand first-hand, and as he sees it, the momentum shows no signs of slowing. He says about 4,000 people showed up to a recent The Coffee Party event in Toronto. "Our community [has] grown so big … the demand is there," he said. "Let's see — sky's the limit — how big we can take this."
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- South China Morning Post
Clubbing without the cost: Singapore's Gen Z vibes to ‘cheaper' daytime raves
In Singapore , a new kind of party is taking off – fuelled by caffeine instead of alcohol and ending before dark – in a shift observers say reflects a broader trend among Gen Z Asians seeking healthier, cheaper and more mindful ways to socialise. Across the region, from matcha-fuelled morning raves to curated mocktail events and sober bars in cities like Bangkok and Tokyo, a quiet shift is under way. While fully alcohol-free nightlife remains niche, wellness-oriented alternatives are gaining ground – and Singapore appears to be at the forefront. At the heart of the city state's movement is Beans&Beats, a daytime party collective created in 2024 by three 20-somethings who wanted to preserve the energy of clubbing without the hangover or high cost. 'When you go out to a nightlife event, you would have to spend at least about S$100 [US$78] – you'd have to go for pre-game, go into the club itself, then maybe even supper, then the killer is really the Grab [ride] back,' said Matteo Lie, 21, one of the co-founders. People gather at Beans&Beats, a daytime party collective in Singapore. Parties at the venue end early enough for attendees to get home via public transport. Photo: Beans&Beats To address this, Lie and fellow co-founders Ethan Lee and Aden Low decided to keep ticket prices between S$15 and S$20 and shut the music off by 7pm – early enough for attendees to get home via public transport.
