Nightclubs struggle to adapt in pandemic
Paisley Nahanee is longing for those exhilarating club nights, the ones where bumping into a few old friends on the dance floor wasn’t considered a health risk.
But when the disc jockey and event organizer throws a couple parties at Vancouver’s pride festivities this weekend, nobody will be making close encounters beneath the disco light, under orders from British Columbia health officials.
“This is going be really different,” Nahanee said of two physically distanced Level Up! events that are restricted to outdoor seating of 50 people at the Clubhouse bar.
The parties are billed as “not quite like last year, but with the same spirit,” and without an overflowing dance floor it’ll certainly feel scaled down.
Instead of crowds numbering in the hundreds, guests can reserve tickets for up to six of their friends on the patio.
Together, they’ll congregate in their circle — or “pod” — for a two-hour window before making way for the next round of partiers. It’s regimented, but for Nahanee, at least it’s happening.
“Partygoers just have to change their expectations,” she said.
“You’re not going to meet any new friends.”
A provincewide ban on dance floors went into effect last week after a number of COVID-19 cases linked to bars and clubs raised concerns over close contact. The move dealt another blow to the crippled local club industry that has struggled to reopen in the midst of the pandemic.
Club operators in B.C. aren’t alone, either. Any bar or venue with a dance floor as a draw might be forced to rethink how they operate with no end to COVID-19 in sight. In Toronto, large venues remain closed, while in Montreal nightclubs are back in business without dance floors and with limited capacity.
Reza Afshari, a clinical professor at the University of British Columbia, expects the coming months will be unpredictable for nightlife as more people head indoors in the cooler weather. While that presents new hurdles that could lead to rollbacks in reopenings, he believes a collaborative relationship between the provincial government, scientists and club owners themselves could help endure the challenges ahead.
“Putting regulation in place is like a faucet that you’re opening more. If you see there are some side effects, then the speed of the running water should become slower,” he said.
“There is no rule that’s being written on a stone.”