Latest news with #CoffeeParty
CBC
3 days ago
- Health
- CBC
How daytime parties are fuelled by the wellness movement and a need for community
Social Sharing Daytime parties are trending across Canada, with people trading alcohol and all-night clubbing for coffee and croissants. One such party is Croissound in Montreal, which is rethinking nightlife culture by gathering local DJs at cafés. So far, it's presented four Canadian events this year, with thousands of attendees. Its most recent party was a free, ticketed event at a popular Montreal food court. The Coffee Party, which calls itself "a global movement reimagining how people connect," has held several events in Toronto since late last year. An increasing number of these sober daytime events seem to be popping up. There have been parties in Vancouver and Edmonton, and even in places like Kazakhstan and Singapore. And in August during the National Bank Open tennis tournament, Sobeys Stadium in Toronto is playing host to a Coffee Party event with all-you-can-eat pastries and bottomless coffee for $25. WATCH | Hitting the dance floor in the daylight: Hit the club and be home by 9 p.m. 7 days ago An outgrowth of the wellness movement Daytime parties represent a shift in how wellness and community are being highlighted in a post-pandemic economy where real-life experiences are valued, experts say. Salima Jadavji, a clinical social worker, psychotherapist and podcaster, said she sees this growing interest as an outgrowth of the wellness movement and as part of a desire for in-person social experiences that are curated. "Sustainable self-care doesn't have to sound boring, it really is what brings you joy and what's good for you," she said. "These gatherings also reflect a broader cultural shift in people prioritizing and attending to their mental well-being ... people are shifting away from escapism to intentionality." WATCH | Montreal is waking up to daytime parties: Coffee, croissants and good sound — daytime parties are popping up in Montreal 3 months ago Croissound is a party from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. for all ages. Experts say this type of event without alcohol is part of a generational shift. For some, that's a move away from an alcohol-fuelled nightlife to healthier, sober daytime gatherings. "While those are the trends of what we're seeing, you can create it in any which way that you want for yourself," Jadavji said. This is also something Emily Lyons has been observing. Lyons, the founder and CEO of Femme Fatale Media, has been planning and hosting events since 2009. She started with local Toronto events but has since expanded across North America. "When we started, it was all nightclubs, nightlife, galas, things like that in the evening," she said. "But over the years, there's been a massive shift, so that's only a very small fraction of what we do now." Lyons said recent wellness trends and the move toward alcohol-free drinks have contributed to the rising popularity of daytime parties. A generational shift In a report released last October based on a 2023 survey, Statistics Canada noted that young people between the ages of 18 and 22 abstained from alcohol at a higher rate than those in older age groups, and a lower proportion of young people drank seven or more alcoholic drinks in the past week compared with older Canadians. There's also greater public awareness of the link between alcohol use and health issues, including cancer. Markus Giesler, a professor of marketing at York University's Schulich School of Business in Toronto, said younger generations seem to be less focused on alcohol consumption and more interested in gatherings that promote wellness and balance. Giesler attributes this to a decline in real, organic social encounters during the COVID-19 pandemic and to a desire for entertainment that's affordable these days. He said members of Gen Z — typically born between 1997 and 2012 — tend to spend their money on more meaningful social experiences. The rise of the gig economy means younger consumers have more flexibility with their scheduling — driving for Uber at night, for example, and using the day for social encounters, he said. Giesler said he's found that evenings aren't as focused on communal gatherings as they were in the past. "Community is valued differently than it used to be," he said. "Sunlight is the new strobe light." A shift for businesses, too These lifestyle changes are also affecting businesses. "These event spaces need to also think very differently about what parties are all about these days," Giesler said. He said he finds that younger generations have become more mindful of others who want to limit their alcohol consumption. "Different things matter now. Quality conversation is more important than the experience of clubbing," Giesler said. "Understanding these changes in consumption is the key to the event spaces and organizers of these parties," he said. "They're being shaped by, and shape this trend, I would say." Spaces for arts and crafts groups, board games and activities that bring people together are benefiting from this trend, Giesler said. Lyons, of Femme Fatale Media, said she's also found that things have changed drastically for her business, and she's no longer spending as much time tearing down events in the middle of the night. "For us in the event world, it's been a total reset," she said. "Somebody said recently that brands want to be associated with clarity, not chaos, and I loved that because I feel like the daytime events are just so much more aligned with how people actually want to live." Lyons said she's seen a redesign of nightclubs into daytime venues. One example is the Toronto Event Centre — formerly Muzik nightclub — which now hosts everything from corporate events and weddings to product launches and cocktail receptions. Lyons, who's worked with the venue for more than 15 years, said it's adapted to changing times and also hosts wellness-focused daytime coffee events because the late-night scene wasn't drawing the same crowds as before. One of her other companies, Lyons Elite, a matchmaking service, is also changing the way it operates to accommodate this shift. "For years, we hosted singles events in the evenings — rooftop mixers, cocktail-style parties — but we started seeing a growing desire for connection without the hangover, so we began testing daytime formats: brunches, coffee meetups, more casual morning networking events," she said. Lyons said she believes more businesses are going to be built around what she calls a new ecosystem. "I just love that we're redefining what a party even means," she said. "It's deep conversations by 10 a.m., and I personally love it because it's so aligned with where I am now in my life and what I'm focused on."
What's On
11-03-2025
- Entertainment
- What's On
Disco dreams and coffee beans: How coffee shop raves are changing the way Dubai parties
An evolution is at Dubai's doorstep, and here's why you need a sip of this brand new brew… It throws me off, just the slightest, to discover that the man and the myth behind Fred's Coffee Party is quite literally, just one man. A post-graduate college student, for that matter, the grinning, twinkling face of a boy . Fred is in fact, not Fred at all – he is Shivam Grover and he organises coffee shop raves for fun. 'I didn't want to be a corporate slave,' he says, with a slight laugh and a shake of his head. Fred's Coffee Party is exactly what it sounds like – a three-word description of a new modus operandi of club culture that is bubbling and brewing in the niches of Dubai. Our little desert-locked haven is synonymous with packed, pulsating dance floors, alcohol swishing about in decanters that seem to only be getting bigger and a rinse-and-repeat weekend routine of play hard, hang over painfully harder. In the midst of this disco-ball-blindness is emerging a trend of coffee shop raves, essentially sober parties where the cool currency of the night is a cup of artisanal joe. Shannon Soans, a dear friend, promoter-night connoisseur and the force behind Off The Record, one of Dubai's hottest weekend parties, is raising a glass (of Spanish latte, probably) to that, with No Filter, Off The Record's caffeinated cousin. 'Beeking and I were already partners for Off The Record,' explains Shannon of the origins of No Filter. 'We got bored, and we do the conventional Saturday nights at different clubs in Dubai, but we also wanted to tap into the market of those who don't drink but enjoy that kind of music. Beeking introduced me to Mohammed – I think Mohammed come up with the name No Filter – but yeah, he had the coffee background and we thought this would be a perfect fit.' Behind the scenes, you're looking at a three-man band, with Shannon, Beeking and provider of the golden bean juice, Mohammed of Emirati Coffee, a brewery and coffee shop that takes it's beans quite seriously, from the birth of the plant to the bitter steam in your face. Together, they are bringing about a change in the way the city parties. Coffee shop raves are not novel – they exist as a proponent of all things cool, cultural and non-alcoholic in many countries, especially in Europe, but in this part of the world, this concept is fresh and inviting, and the people have been won over. The formula is simple – a visually aesthetic location, a high-octane DJ with a playlist of the most popular house music mix right now under his belt and of course, coffee, and BOOM. You've created a space for a new type of party person, the young, fun, mostly Generation Z, health conscious, perpetually sober one, who just wants to go dancing without having to fight off party zombies and the baggage that comes with drinking. 'W hen I came to Dubai, I saw so many people into wellness, which I never saw back in India, so people going to the gyms, preferring their health over anything, and the number of people who are sober here is way higher than anywhere in the world,' remarks Shivam. 'People are actually focusing a lot on their health since COVID.' 'C urrently at this moment, what I like is that there's just so much positivity around,' explains Shannon, adding that people are loving the literal and metaphorical weightlessness of the experience. 'We recently had a Costa Coffee collaboration and like, people had their dogs, and the dog was chilling, and people got their kids as well. Like, it's a cool way to enjoy this type of music.' Shivam works on his own, partnering with cool cafes (and the Dubai Airport, not that long ago), a sign of the times in Dubai, and DJs to set up raves. Events are small, an air of exclusivity with special invitations sent in private DMs to followers old and new. Shannon, Beeking and Mohammed deck out their venues with rented sound-systems, bottling their cold brews and lattes into beer glass. You're bound to see a pair of jorts, or cowboy boots, removed hilariously far from the Wild West. 'I f you see some of the videos from the Costa event, the staff together were just carrying the event along with the DJ,' recalls Shannon, explaining to me the supercharged atmosphere at these parties. 'At one point, Soulja Boy played and there were like maybe 10 or 15 people behind that were just doing the Soulja and the whole coffee shop was going left. It was like in waves and we were like wow , I still can't believe this happens. This doesn't even happen at Off The Record but it's happening at coffee parties.' 'E ven I thought that people would just be connecting and talking,' adds Shivam. 'You know, there would be less energy because mostly there is the alcohol that gets people dancing, right? But even after the first event, people went mad. The energy was actually higher than what you see in the club – people are dancing, jumping, there's a section of people who are talking, networking.' All the makings of a sky-rocketing social and cultural tide, and that is exactly what's happening right now as the omnipresence of social media fans the flame of popularity and the prospect of building new connections. This may not have been possible perhaps 10 years ago, without this rise in sobriety, without our digital universe, and the anatomy of trends and trendiness. But, here we are, and we like this place. Both Fred's and No Filter have big plans for innovation to combat the potential low of this high, with new locations, new formats, new genres of music and new drinks on the board – perhaps not expansion, because that takes away from the curious joy of the insider mindset. Right now, they're downing espresso shots, reveling in the club-bound-C02-esque steam of coffee makers, and being really, really cool. @ @fredscoffeeparty Images: Supplied
