Happy New Year My Loves!
Ahhhright! I’m here to share some thoughts on this NYC New Year’s fete scene. I know some of you have been waiting impatiently for me to share my thoughts lol, and I’m going to do just that. I’m not throwing shade to any promoters, just stating my personal opinions and some facts.
So the big question for a lot of feters this year was, “Should I attend Chic or Sparkle?” I’ve been a loyal Sparkle attendee since 2014 and after hearing rave reviews about Chic 2016, I decided to part ways and see what Chic was all about.
Here’s what I loved about Chic:
VENUE
It was nice to finally strut my stuff in a facility designed for special occasions. Eden’s Place has a beautiful carpeted entryway and lovely hard wood floors in the main ballroom. The intimate setting was well lit which allowed for proper gazing and bright photo opportunities. Those of us with iPhone’s didn’t have to rely on Samsung users for quality low light pictures. The dance floor was spacious and the bar and dining area were nicely tucked away on the side. The setup seemed perfect.
TIMING
It was nice to get a decent night’s sleep before attending the event. The 10:00AM start time was ideal. Now that I think about it, I really could have went to church and still made it to Chic at a decent time. The girls and I arrived at 11AM and pre-gamed in the car for 40 minutes before making our way inside. Music was playing but the food wasn’t being served just yet. This was a good sign. So let’s talk about the food shall we.
THE MEAL
Now, I’m not going to front, I was very sad about missing Sparkle’s lavish breakfast, brunch and lunch spread. We all know (or should know) that Sugar Cane knows how to throw down a meal! But, I must say, Chic came through with the culinary delights from D’Savannah! My palette was well pleased! Being the 3rd person in the food line made it even sweeter LOL! No complaints here!
Now, we all know that no event is perfect, thus, there should be zero expectation for a flawless Caribbean event, IN BROOKLYN. In my eyes, everyone (even the patrons) had a part to play to make an event successful.
Here’s where Chic let me down:
MUSIC
I had a rhell nice groove going in the beginning with the live band serenading us with island tunes as we ate. The first DJ played a number of old school classics to warm us up and help us relive our youthful days. But, the longer we stayed, the more inconsistent the music became. While the promoters did select the DJs for the event, the musical flow was totally out of their control. Thus, I write the following letter to the DJs:
Dear DJs,
Please arrive in enough time to hear what the previous DJ played. It is so unfair to us patrons to reach a high point on the dance floor only for you to kill the vibe with some dumb slow reggae song. We understand you may want to warm up, but it’s not about you! It’s about us, and we’re already warmed up! I beg of thee… please stop doing this!
Oh, and P.S. We can only listen to so many similar old school sets. Yes, you may be playing for the folks who just arrived but oh well – they missed it – move on.
Clearly I was frustrated at the performance of these DJs. Don’t ask me who they were because I cannot tell you. To add fuel to the fire, the sound system conked out several times leaving a weird void in the atmosphere. Could it be that the base was too powerful? I mean, when your whole upper body is vibrating to each beat it probably means someone needs to make moves and adjust the system. I’m just saying. Early vibes were good though!
THE CROWD
So let’s talk about the attendees. For whatever reasons, many of my island brethren do NOT like to arrive to fetes on time. Some want to wait for it to get poppin’, others want to do hard core pre-gaming before they enter and the rest are simply horrible at time management. In the beginning, we didn’t have any spacing issues. But, once 4 P.M. hit, it was like a packed sauna at the country club. The kicker was, people were still rolling in HEAVY. In my mind I’m like, “Where are all these people going to fit? It’s already jam packed!” Y’all already know I despise congested fetes, and it was getting pretty ugly up in Chic. I’m pretty sure the AC was not on for a long while and we were sweating like nobody’s business. Meanwhile, my WhatsApp messenger was blowing up with text from friends stuck outside saying that the line was out of control and they weren’t letting anyone else in. There was enough frustration to go around.
UPKEEP
Normally, this wouldn’t even be a topic if I were giving a review on a regular fete. However, since we are discussing a formal event the matter must be addressed. We all know how crazy the floors can get once people start to get lit and the place gets packed. Just envision mucky floors filled with melted ice, cups and lord knows what else. An entire bucket of ice fell right next to me and the mess stayed there the whole time with numerous people nearly bussing their tails on the cubes. Now, picture gowns floating in all of that. NO! Just no! I would have loved to see an incognito cleaning crew floating around picking up behind the messy feters. Let’s face it, we’ve got to do better people.
Within my words I’m sure promoters can decipher how they can improve. But I’d like to give some additional tips to them and my fellow feters for future reference:
ARRIVE AT A DECENT TIME
I know some people did the double and went to Sparkle before going to Chic. This is definitely doable but you need have some hard core will power, time management skills and a certain level of soberness to pull this off. A lot of “Sparklers” fell victim to the bottle necked line outside Chic.
Even if you don’t have prior commitments try to make it to the event so you can experience all it has to offer. Yes, if you have a ticket you should absolutely be guaranteed entry even if you arrive 30 minutes before the event ends. But let’s be real. It’s Brooklyn. Don’t risk your money like that. There are no guarantees.
QUALITY OVER CAPACITY
Word on the street is that Chic was not oversold. Now if we look at this from a building aspect it probably wasn’t. It’s a big venue but it seemed as though we only occupied roughly 75% of the first floor. The other 25% was used for check-in, photo booth’s, bathrooms and coat check. Ideally, the ballroom should have been used to properly calculate the amount of guests that would have fit COMFORTABLY. When it comes to classy events like these, the people need space to dance and move without fearing that someone will spill liquor on them because there was no room to turn around. We don’t want to squeeze by people in our delicate dresses and risk the material being tugged by someone’s lapel pin. Additionally, we don’t want to step on some woman’s train because we can’t see the floor in front of us. Which leads me to my next point.
LEAVE THE TRAINS AT HOME
Ladies. I know it’s a gala and you want to get all sexy and feel like a queen. But let’s be honest, we’re talking liquor, soca, dancehall, Caribbean people and BROOKLYN. Stop wearing trains to these events then getting upset because the dress got jacked up. You already knew the risks when you put it on. If you don’t know, I’m telling you from now, the likelihood of your dress staying clean for any future gala is slim to none. Don’t do it!
IT’S A GALA!
Last point and I’m done. Yes, we are used to our cooler fetes, boat rides and backyard limes; however, those are the complete opposite of a gala. The expectation is that you are not going to carry on the same way you would at any regular fete. Will you have the itch to excessively “squat and go down”? Absolutely. Should you scratch that itch? Absolutely not. We have to keep it classy on these rare occasions people. We can’t allow ourselves to leave a gala with our silk and suede threads saturated in perspiration. Our designer shoes cannot be corroded in “ wukkup muck”. Lastly, we should not be passed out on the ground next to our own puke in our best threads…where dey do that at?! Wine in style people. Wine in style. This is the one time it’s OK to be stush lol.
OK, I’m done. For real! I’d love to hear about your 2017 New Year’s Day experiences. Did you go to Chic or Sparkle? Were you out of the country? How did you celebrate? Share in the comments so we can get some ideas for 2018!
