The Friday after Thanksgiving has become synonymous with retail madness while the Wednesday night before has easily become the hottest night to experience nightlife in Chicago. This year was no different with dozens of Chicago hot spots hosting events with popular DJs to draw you in. Everything changed when we received a promotional email from the creators of Wavefront Music Festival inviting us to something special, Black Wednesday in White City event at the Germania Place ( a space usually reserved for wedding receptions).  The collective efforts of Go Massive, Outfit Events and BAM Creates came up with something unique yet rooted in Chicago history.The event referenced the 1893 Words Fair that took place in Chicago as well as the book The  Devil In The White City  by Erik Larson. The book is based on the true events that happened during Fair involving Dr. H H Holmes, who lured his victims from the fair to his “Murder Castle”. This was evident as one of the bartenders was dressed up as Dr. Holmes with blood on his shirt.

Chicago’s own Inphinity started out the party with LA base Ruexx taking over after until the two main acts came on. First it was Hook n Sling and then AN21. If you ask me it’s not a bad lineup for an event that was only advertised for about 3 weeks .

Performers mingled with the crowd in both spaces. Contortionists amazed the crowd by the main stage as acrobats climbed a structure in the VIP lounge. An artist was painting in the stairway lobby as you entered the main dance floor space. The museum of Science and Industry borrowed its Tesla Coil for the event which added to the atmosphere and single single-handily caused everyone to stop int heir tracks when its electric hum filled the air. The VIP lounge was particularly interesting as inventions that were displayed at the Words Fair in 1893 were on display.

Originally I thought the late notice was a burden on the event. With little time to advertise I wasn’t sure if the event would be considered a success. The main dance floor was pretty empty till around midnight but filled up pretty well after. In the end the fact that this was not an event everyone had on their radar, the fact that it attracted a more mature audience and that everyone was asked to play dress up made it something to remember. It felt as if we took a step out of 2015 and landed in a darker Great Gatsby inspired party. While this is definitely something I don’t see many young people attending in the future, I for one will be on the lookout for any future events hosted by the organizers.

To check out the rest of our pictures from the event follow this LINK.