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A couple thousand party people representing several adult age groups, plus fashion models and perhaps some cleavage-displaying stilt walkers, are expected to populate Palm Ave. during the 6th annual Chillounge Night.
Truckloads of luxury outdoor lounge chairs, canopy-covered daybeds and settees will adorn the streetscape March 9.
Pulsating sonics and trippy visuals will add to the club-like atmosphere.
Anyone age 21 or older, with $25-$30 for admission, is welcome to attend.
VIP access costs $95.
Billed as “the ultimate outdoor lounge party,” Chillounge has been a major hit since it debuted in Sarasota Feb. 2, 2008.
At the time, organizer Rainer Scheer simply wanted to get people to visit his business.
“I was a gallery owner on Palm Ave.,” he said. “People didn’t come downtown. So I came up with the whole idea and traveled to Indonesia and bought five trucks of furniture.”
Six years later, Scheer’s gallery days are done.
Chillounge has become a statewide sensation. Scheer, who lives on Anna Maria Island, will throw separate events in Tampa and Treasure Island next month followed by an Orlando bash in May.
Past outdoor parties have been deployed in Delray Beach and Fort Myers.
“I do Chillounge 24/7,” Scheer said. “It’s a lot of work. Each event is very complex with all different layers.”
Scott “DJ Scotty B” Bivens usually can be found entertaining the Daiquiri Deck crowd in St. Armands Circle on Thursdays and Saturdays. But March 9, he’ll be making his DJ debut at Chillounge.
“I’ve been trying to get this gig since it started,” Bivens said. “This is huge. Everybody is out there; it’s such a great attraction.”
Like most successful DJs, Bivens doesn’t have a set playlist going into the night.
“I’m probably going to start with some mainstream dance music and feel the crowd out,” he said. “From there, I’ll bounce in different directions.”
The Saturday soiree will also feature live music with performances by world-music specialists Lotus Fire and soul-rockers AJ and the Automatics.
“People keep telling me they want local bands,” Scheer said. “So we got some of the best.”
Ana Molinari, which has a salon and spa in downtown Sarasota with an additional location in Lakewood Ranch, will again supply the fashion models.
The hors d’ oeuvres will again be provided by Treviso, the restaurant and catering company that operates out of the Ringling Museum of Art.
There will also be new features like LED lights operated by remote control and flower arrangements from Naked Florist Event and Floral Design Studio, the Sarasota company run by Roger Capote.
But the main attraction at Chillounge remains the event itself.
People dressed chic casual and evening-gown elegant come to see and be seen, mingle, dance and, yes, hook up.
In fact, the latter is what pleases Scheer the most about his fabulous parties.
“I’m always happy that people meet their loved ones at Chillounge,” he said. “And then they come back and celebrate their anniversary at Chillounge.”
Attended for the first time and it was a disappointment. Glad I was at least able to contribute to a good cheritable organization. Feel your organization of this event could have been improved significantly. Unless arriving at the opening, there were no lounges available for the normal contributor. Also when asked if there was a chronical list of events thru the night, there was none published or handed out. We were told to listen for an announcements, but no one could hear them thru the crowd, with the music. There was a lack of advertized appetizers and very little foor available to purchase. Perhaps if we had known what was available in the VIP area we may have contributed the extra dollars for more suitable food, drink & lounging. There also seemed to be a lack of pre-advertising as our first indication of this event was in the TICKET (Thursday). Would not attend nor spread the word again, uless approvements noted above were made.