GiB#2 | Cotton Candy HIs and LOs

A couple years ago a bunch of folks realized – rightly so – that Beirut’s night scene could use a little more (pink) spice indeed. They went ahead and created a label, and started to throw out gigs, about once a month, that brought together a growing crowd of partygoers. They picked unusual, underground venues, hopping from a warehouse to an artist’s loft, from a rooftop to a deserted cinema, from a pool to a hotel suite.

Building on hype and word-of-mouth, in the beginning and for some time Cotton Candy has been able to build a fun, eclectic, LGBT-friendly crowd of likeminded party people. Every regular likes to remember their own favorite, that unforgettable Cotton Candy night.

Cotton Candy is still going, but since year 2 the parties have been hit or miss. On the good ones, the in-house DJs DJette, Tia & Romax, Jade (Basement) or Ordinary K set the place on fire so bad, the venue is trippy, the people pretty and the theme witty, and the vibe turns out great.

 At too many other gigs however, especially during the course of 2009, Cotton Candy seemed to be falling in the hole it dig for itself. Alternative turning Commercial. Eclectic turning Wannabe. Underground turning Suffocating. BYOB (bring-your-own-bottle) turning $50-Covers. Adult Adolescent turning Teenager. Creative turning Junk. Trashy turning Cheap. And GiB Loyalty was turning Boycott...

But then came the last two months’ Cotton Candies which fell more on the better side. Did the organizers get the wake-up call, and is Cotton Candy getting back on track? We GiBs certainly do hope so!