Dummies on the Dancefloor

Kids

February 2008

DUMMIES ON THE DANCEFLOOR: US BABY RAVE CONCEPT CONQUERS UK

UPFRONT, One to Watch, february 2008, COMMENTS

You can forget dummy-sporting, neon-clad crasher kids: a new night that’s creeping into UK clubs has taken the quirky crown. And if it’s publicity for your venue you’re after, then Baby Loves Disco is a sure thing. What could be more intriguing and bizarre than opening your doors to young tots and their parents for an afternoon rave?

The event is somewhere between a club night and the early learning centre. On the surface, Baby Loves Disco is just like any other rave; flashing lights, a chill out area, drinks around the edge of the dancefloor. But the booties shaking on the dancefloor are nappy-clad, the chill out area is loaded with puzzles, games and books, bubble machines replace smoke machines and the 80s pop and disco tunes nod towards the parents’ past.

In a competitive landscape constricted by increasing regulation, you could be forgiven for thinking the idea of inviting babies and their protective parents into a nightclub environment is a recipe for a health and safety disaster. But Baby Loves Disco comes prepared. With a deep clean of the club the night before, a thorough risk-assessment and an assurance that all responsibility for the children lies with the parents, managers can rest easy. BLD promote the event, set up and stage it on the day and supply their own credible DJs. The venue just has to provide security and staff to run the club as they would a normal club night, supply tables for the snacks and baby change and promote the event via its websites.

The concept was born out of a mother’s desire to find alternative entertainment for parent and child that could be fully enjoyed by both. Professional dancer turned “montrepreneur” Heather Murphy Montheith set the ball in motion in November 2004 by throwing a family disco in a small club in Philadelphia above the restaurant where she worked as a waitress. Heather explained: “I bought egg shakers, play scarves, pillows and a bubble machine. I stocked a “chill-out space” with books and simple toys and bought a bunch of low-sugar and healthy snacks for a kid’s buffet. I got an actor/friend/DJ to bring his amazing stock of disco and rare 80’s records to spin at the party. I bought some balloons, made a diaper changing station and opened the club at 2pm on a cold Saturday in November. I prayed that 35 people would show-up, and in the end, over 100 turned-out. “Baby Disco” was born!”

The event reached Club Cielo in Manhattan’s Meat Packing District in September 2005 after it caught the attention of New York record producer and children’s author Andy Blackman Hurwitz. It quickly spread throughout the US, now taking root in 22 cities, including Ruby Skye in San Francisco and Club Firestone in Orlando.

The brand’s success rides the wave of a parent brigade driven by a yearning to re-live former raving years and to bond with their kids in a fun-for-all activity. It’s a great meeting place for parents and the kids, who are aged between six months and seven years, and are happy to be roaming free in a new environment. Baby Loves Disco broke the boundaries of the US thanks to passionate Manchester mum Naomi Timperley, who launched monthly events from September at Pure in Manchester and at the Clapham Grand in SW London.

Naomi enthused: “It’s a great opportunity to use a venue when it wouldn’t normally be open and target an audience that they wouldn’t usually associate with. It’s also a great way to get some free PR.” Naomi plans to launch BLD in Scotland in the Spring and is looking at Brighton, Birmingham, Nottingham and Dublin as future city launches. Andy says: “Venues need to be spacious (at least 500 person capacity - we undersell our events by 33% to provide space), clean, cool, with dancefloor, ideally a disco ball and central to parents. It’s a bonus if there are other rooms. Our grass roots network of underground marketing brings thousands of hits to club websites, a ton of goodwill amongst the local community and the ability to reach a powerful demographic - young parents in their 20s and 30s who often come back to the clubs at night without their kids.”

BLD could well have opened a whole new can of worms for the nightclub industry. Crasher kids pass on your glow-sticks; ‘Toddlers love trance’ is on the way...

For more info on hosting a UK Baby Loves Disco event contact: naomi@babylovesdisco.co.uk

From: February 2008 Issue

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