Not sure whether its the 3 day Halloween party that has just barely ended or Bongo Ball the night before but I feel like my week is just now starting. I’m pretty sure its Bongo Ball.

For those who don’t know, Bongo is an event thats only been around for a few years but has somehow solidified a reputation as one of the best and, more importantly, unique nights of the year. I’m not saying it was perfect, Bongo is never perfect. Thats part of its charm though. It has the distinct ability to fall short in certain areas and yet somehow, perhaps its the incredibly dedicated community that organizes it, the sense of joy within that old airplane hangar when you arrive is always palpable year after year.

I wont make this a long and drawn out description of every detail of the event, so here are the highlights:

The Zambula band has played better sets in past years. Not sure if it was the new sound system they had for this year (which was much smaller and, in my opinion, not loud enough), or perhaps the new stage, but they seemed a lot more subdued than they have been in the past. They also could have been really high.

Burgers were as delicious as always. One of my favorite parts of Bongo is the free burgers. Its such a good idea for events just to provide something for guests eat. Keeps blood sugar up and people out of ambulances.

The music was not loud enough in the main room or the chill out tent this year. Last year, the main hangar must have had 2 10 foot stacks on either side of the stage. This year they had about 1/3 of the sound. I’m not sure if it was a licensing issue or perhaps they got noise complaints and couldn’t get the same rig, but it was kind of a let down. After the band finished their set though, the DJs from the chill out tent asked to have the band’s monitors moved into their tent so they could get some more decent sound. Completely changed the vibe of the room and probably has a lot to do with my final point:

The chill out tent was incredible this year. By the end of the night there were probably more people dancing in the chill out tent than in the main room. Good vibes.

Also, the costumes are always something else:

Look a wild herd of Giraffes!

You know we roll in the “hood” at Bongo.

So. Many. Giraffes. Plus a tiger and, this is just a guess but, a frog?

Even the DJ got into it. Colloquially, I think he was called deadli0n.

The guy on the left must have forgotten his costume.

Photos by Ben Goulter