Some of RVA’s best party animals, Party Liberation Front, are set to host another fantastic New Years Eve event – Decemberween 11.
Some of RVA’s best party animals, Party Liberation Front, are set to host another fantastic New Years Eve event – Decemberween 11. This in deed their 11th year of celebrating the new year in their unique way, and RVAMag President and PLF member John Reinhold spoke with one of the organizers, DJ Mr Jennings, about what’s in store for this year. You can snag tickets here, and get em quick cause last year sold out and it’s one hell of a party.
Whats the plans for NYE Decemberween 11 Event?
Well, we’re pretty excited to return to Diversity Richmond for our second Decemberween there. We will have inside and outside areas with 2 stages of DJs, plus a jazz band at midnight in the lounge. Outside we will have lots of fire. Fire spinning, poofers, a fire whack-a-mole game, and more. We’re especially stoked to bring back Josephine, the Colossal Skeleton Marionette. She is a 20 foot tall metal sculpture created by Charlottesville artist Christian Breeden. Several people can operate the marionette together, making her dance and pose to the music.
Inside, we’ll have a DJ stage with some serious bass sounds, plus couches and lounge space for relaxing (you can’t dance constantly, ya know?). There will be a number of interactive art pieces, and an immersive environment of lights and decor to set the mood. The inside dance party goes til 4am, so drink up on the coffee 😉
What makes this event unique to NYE events?
New Years parties seem to have a reputation for being a bit sloppy, or too mainstream, or whatever. With Decemberween, we wanted to create a party that all of our friends actually really want to go to. All PLF events have a strong community focus, and this is no different. We also have a lot more going on than just a DJ or band and pricey drinks. There’s lounge space so you can actually connect with people, there’s art that you can play with, fire and dance performances, and more. We also do our best to book DJs and artists who play some pretty awesome underground dance music. This is not a top 40 party. We aim to make it an event that satisfies all the senses and leaves you excited and inspired to do amazing things in the new year.
What changes are in store this year?
Last year we were surprised and thrilled to sell out to our capacity of 450 tickets. This year Diversity has graciously allowed us to expand that cap to 650 so more people can join in the fun. We also have put over $1000 into art grants this year, allowing artists to create new installations and experiences unique to this event. We’re also keeping the outside stage bumping til 1am this time. We are also making some logistical changes to streamline the entry process, the bar, and the champagne toast to make it easier and smoother for everybody.
Can you tell us about the non profit and future plans for the foundation?
Yes! We have just started a 501c3 non-profit called Party Liberation Foundation. We are super excited about this. This organization will allow us to improve things we are already doing, such as the free First Friday Pyro Circus at Gallery 5. Moving forward, we are excited to start offering free workshops on art, performance art, and more in 2017. Longer term goals include grants for funding artists in Richmond and potentially creating a community maker space that allows artists to have access to resources that are otherwise too costly to own on an individual basis. Decemberween 11 is our first official fundraiser for the non-profit. We can’t wait to get things going in 2017 🙂
What kinds of musical guests will be at the event this year?
This year we’ve cast our net a little wider. We’re really excited to have our dear friend Kanizzle come all the way from Taos, NM to play on the inside stage. He is a master of global and tropical bass music, and will definitely get you moving. We’re also excited to have Mambisa return from Philly. She has impeccable taste in dance rhythms from all over the world. Teknacolor Ninja will also be visiting from Philly. She’s one of my absolute favorite DJs and we’re stoked to have her down this year. DJ $mall Change will be coming down from NYC as well. His encyclopedic knowledge of music always blows me away. From hiphop to house to dubstep to old obscure funk records, he’s got it all. We’ve got plenty more in store, but those are some exciting highlights for this year.
I know you have some special art projects and art grants. Can you tell is about those and what we might see at NYE?
Well, as I mentioned above, we’re thrilled to facilitate the return of Josephine the Colossal Skeleton Marionette. We also have funded several artists with over $1000 total for entirely new creations. Jenny Elmore from Charlottesville will be creating a metal archway with interactive sound and light elements. Camp Nyan Cat, from Richmond, will be making 40 ginger bread houses for you to decorate, then later destroy with action figures and eat (sounds fun, right!?). Brothers Reef and Dave Clem will both be building new fire installations to wow you outside. Ryan Bowman is using a cool piece of technology called Makey Makey to make a whack-a-mole type game that shoots fire (what!?). And Colin Magness will take you to the Birthday Zone, where you it’s always your birthday, with balloon madness and more.
So of course Mr. Jennings is playing, recently you had a release on The Untz – can you tell us a little about the release?
Yup yup! I just released a bootleg remix of Anderson .Paak’s righteously funky track Come Down. I got to see him play at the National in June, and it was just ridiculous. I’m pretty much totally obsessed with Anderson .Paak right now, so I just had to do this remix. The Untz was kind enough to premier the track. They did a stellar write up with a rather glowing review, and I really can’t thank them enough.
Tickets are on sale here
Advanced tickets: $28
Door: $40 (This event sold out last year, don’t count on there being any at the door)
