If on the way inside the Bomb Factory Wednesday night for the CultureMap Social you said, "we're with the band," we wouldn't have blamed you one bit. Hundreds of pretty young professionals were there, eager to rock out at the newly reopened Deep Ellum music venue, where tasty nibbles, cold drinks, playful games, glam makeovers and — of course — plenty of music awaited.
Guests — including Tara and Zach Redington, Jenna Baker, Luis Martinez, Ekaterina Kouznetsova, Michael Dylan, Robert Andrews, Penny Kim, Melissa Rountree, Lauren Burns, Kelly Bascher, Anton Schlesinger, Tramaine Townsend, and Michael Rodriguez — passed by performers spinning lighted hula hoops before entering the mammoth space. (Concerts here can hold more than 4,000 people.)
Event partners Decks in the Park, Downtown Dallas Inc., The One Society and Think Ahead Group helped make sure there was never a dull moment at the happy hour event. Life-size Connect Four and Jenga sparked more than a few friendly competitions, and everyone crowded around the Photomadic photo booth to capture their good times for posterity.
To help attendees get picture-perfect, on-demand beauty service beGlammed hosted a rock-star beauty bar, where we may have spotted more than one mohawk being styled. Others got dolled up with fake eyelashes and dabs of shiny lip gloss. Speaking of glam, floral designs by Dirt complemented the venue's purple couches and sparkly chandeliers.
Woodlands American Grill, Bread Winners, Henry's Majestic and The Quarter Bar provided the bites, which ranged from ahi tuna nachos and savory bison meatballs to fondue bites and toffee bars. At the well-staffed drink stations, glasses of Columbia Chardonnay and Columbia Red Blend were poured while tops were popped on Neato Bandito and IPA cans from nearby Deep Ellum Brewing Company.
Cadillac parked some sleek wheels indoors, including a silver Escalade and a blue Cadillac ATS; the latter served as the spin station for DJ Jose G. Helping out Jose G on the music side was headliner Larry g(EE), who stormed the main stage and delivered a set that had the crowd moving.
Alas, all good things must come to an end, but scooping up a swag bag stuffed with goodies certainly helped make leaving a little easier. Cute flip-flops from Hari Mari, beGlammed gift cards, Robies lounge pants, Verizon Theatre tickets and BirdBriefs men's undies were discovered inside the bags, and a sampler pack of Red Bull means we're all ready to keep the party going until the next CultureMap Social.
For scenes from the CultureMap Social: Music Edition, watch the video below:
Jenna Baker, Luis Martinez
Ice skaters showed off their moves in the "Central Park" rink.Photo by Ashley Gongora
The Kilgore Rangerettes channeled the Radio City Rockettes.Photo by Ashley Gongora
Dessert included a cake that looked like a blue Tiffany box.Photo by Michael Merry