Thousands of revellers make first Nature Nocturne smash hit
Organizers excited by numbers, will learn lessons from long lineups
The towering skeletons of long-extinct dinosaurs maintained menacing poses as My Humps by the Black Eyed Peas echoed into the fossil gallery at the Canadian Museum of Nature on Friday.
“What you gonna do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk?”
But over on the mezzanine floor of the Queens’ Lantern, a crowd of 20-something humans responded by engaging in a late-night urban mating ritual.
Clutching bottles of beer and glasses of gin, couples moved closer to each other on the unlikely dance floor, usually reserved for more formal events.
“I’ma get, get, get, get, you drunk. Get you love drunk off my hump.”
It was the “grown-up playground” organizers expected at the inaugural Nature Nocturne, a monthly after-hours DJ dance party at the museum with access to the exhibits, as well as special installations.
What was not expected was the turnout. Organizers planned for hundreds but early estimates suggest up to 2,000 attended, the museum’s director of communications said Saturday.
“We were surprised at the number of people that responded to this program. I don’t think we had any sense for the numbers,” said Liz McCrea, “It was quite exciting but at the same time a little bit intimidating. I think in the debrief we’ll probably have some lessons learned.”
The lack of foresight was evident in the long lineups, which were an exhibit themselves. Ladies shivered in their stilettos on the icy sidewalk as they waited to get through the grand doors at 240 McLeod St.
Once inside, partygoers were faced with the prospect of shuffling languidly in line as taxidermied beasts went unseen.
“It’s like the Wine and Food show, museum edition,” said Nicole Smith, who was celebrating her 29th birthday. She wore a nature-inspired flamingo hat, while others in her group represented other members of the animal kingdom.
“This is the line for the bar. I’m not getting a drink,” said another man as he eyed the lineup of more than 100 people at the east wing bar. Those who waited patiently left after 45 minutes juggling two or three drinks. Aside from the draft beer served in plastic cups, drinks were served in breakable glasses that shattered in the halls when elbows bumped in the excitement of the evening.
The waiting continued even after the party was over. Those who left their jackets in the self-serve coat check huddled outside the small entrance at the end of the night as police and museum staff managed the flow in and out. Some complained loudly that their jackets were missing. One coatless young man ended his night in cuffs.
Despite the hiccups, mostly positive reviews rolled in on Twitter under the hashtag naturenocturne. A screen on one of the museum walls showed the stream of tweets as they came in.
In Barrick Salon, the “spinvocative hoopers” twirled glowing balls and hula hoops as others ducked in and out of a camping tent set up in the middle of the room. The lines for the bars grew shorter later in the evening.
The second edition of Nature Nocturne is scheduled for Feb. 22 — and McCrea said the criticism from the first edition will not go unheard.
“All those things are probably going to be reviewed and addressed so that the next time this happens, we’ll be much more able to cope because we’ll have lived this once,” McCrea said.