At first it sounds weird, since raves include alcohol, drugs and an environment that could be aggressive for a child or even a teen, so if you’re reading this you may be expecting an article against this type of behavior, but, what if there is a way for kids to enjoy a healthy family friendly rave?
First of all let’s take away the part where people drink, use drugs and get a little aggressive; there is still the most important part and the heart of doofs and clubs.
Illegal Fun
There would not be much honesty if we do not acknowledge that before any family friendly thing, there were and still are underage people that sneak their way into raves and festivals, and it comes to a point where it’s inevitable.
Still the right thing to do is to teach that there has to be a good amount of responsibility and self preservation to attend to a rave. That includes babies, kids and teens.
With that out of the way here is the new family fun.
Kids Raves
Family friendly raves are a thing today, one of these events is called Rave-A-Roo.
Rave-A-Roo takes place in London and it’s a festival that occurs during the day that promises fun for the whole family. The main event however is for kids, in other words, it’s an event that more than anything should appeal to kids, and this is done with a line-up of great DJs. The idea is simple, electronic music, a safe soft room, Disco Ball various games, live performances on stage, special guests and a lot more.
Another similar event that takes place in London is Big Fish Little Fish.
Its founder Hannah Saunders said:
Raving always came from the heart, a way to express a love of music and dancing with your friends. BFLF extends that across the generations so you can rave with your family too. It’s a celebration of life, love, unity and music. Together on the dance floor.
The funny thing is that, it’s the same in regular raves and festivals, so the core of the experience is still there.
However it comes with a set of rules such as; adults having to remain responsible for their children at all times, families with younger children around 8, through all ages are welcome as long as there are both adults and children in your party, adult only groups are not allowed in the event; there is a maximum number of 3 children per adult in a family and many other rules that keep the place in order.
Interview With The DJs
In an interview with two DJs from BFLF, Iain Baker and Dylan Beale, they gave some insight in what it’s like to be a DJ at these events.
Baker: They enjoy it vicariously through them. We almost bypass the kids; we’re letting them decipher it themselves through understanding the body language and energy of their parents.
These kids are starting to understand the dynamics of the music and can feel the tune moving
Beale: The founder Hannah is really smart. She aims the events to kids from nought to eight. After that age they start to be a little embarrassed by their parents but before then they’re happy as Larry to dance with mum and dad.
Baker: This is stuff that takes seasoned clubbers a while to get, and these kids are four! You can see it passing over their face and they completely get it. That’s really interesting. For us it’s a cultural moment, like ‘hey this is a significant and important tune from 95’ now 30 years later a kid who was born in the middle of the 2010s suddenly for the first time in his life appreciates that.
Cool Kids
It’s a cool idea to have events that welcome people and families of any age and make them love the same genre that millions of people dance to all over the world. It’s also a good way to connect with child that doesn’t really understand the movement, in order words, it’s a way for them to feel the rave, in their own safe way.
Dylan Beale
Seeing a five-year-old having a Joey Beltram epiphany on the stage in Fire while his dad holds him on stage so he can stare at the decks with his mind blown is definitely ‘a moment’.
Interview from: https://blog.denondj.com/beyond-the-club-family-rave-djs-baker-beale/?fbclid=IwAR00sjk1UTad5NoYezL106kGLAW5AFj4bfujhtoVl_oGmB7gbl_7gbig0xI
