The Founders of Winter Party

Winter Party Festival is something that thousands of people from around the world anticipate and celebrate each year, but few realize it all started with just four men. On the 20th anniversary of Winter Party Festival in 2013, we asked them to look back on a favorite Winter Party memory. Here’s what they had to say.

“One of my funniest memories was the custom-designed slipcovers done by Harry Bader, the set designer of the first two Winter Partys. In his consummate attention to detail, he had the port-o-lets slipcovered in the signature pink dayglow color of the event. What we hadn’t realized was that by slipcovering the port-o-lets we had also blocked the opening at the top that let the light in. Once the party began we found out the port-o-lets were pitch black inside and we had to run around cutting slits on the tops to let the light in.”

DENNIS LEYVA

“The third Winter Party began with a cloudy and windy day. As the day progressed the wind, rain and gloom continued to get worse, Our DJ, Buc, was in a raised open-air DJ booth, and as the wind from the ocean picked up he began to have trouble controlling the needle on the turntable because the wind and the sand was covering everything. What to do? I started taking the tarps that covered the speakers and wrapped the hut. The more the wind picked up, the more tarps I took to the hut. By the end of the party, I had completely wrapped the hut and cut a three-inch square hole for Buc to use to see what was happening on the dance floor.”

CLARK REYNOLDS

“I remember arriving at the site to start the setup of the dance floor and event perimeter with, among other things, a shovel to dig the holes for the wood stakes. What we didn’t know is that the sand near the dune is like concrete and the shovel wouldn’t even penetrate it. We then went and got a manual posthole digger and got nowhere with that either. We finally realized we needed something gas- powered. Of course, we had no idea where to find one or how to operate it, but eventually we figured it out and succeeded in creating the holes for the perimeter posts.”

Stewart Stein

“Winter Party 1996 had an Ancient Egypt theme. The dance floor was presided over by an imposing, beautifully painted Sphinx our designer, Barton G, had constructed out of Styrofoam. The day started cold, gray and blustery, with off and on drizzle. By about two in the afternoon, undeterred, the crowd started coming in. Shortly thereafter a gust of wind toppled the Sphinx on its side. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. The “flying Sphinx” was actually a hit with the crowd and raised the energy on the dance floor to a new level of fun!”