by J. Brown
Winter is gone, and spring is upon us. In addition to the obvious climate changes that will take place, springtime garners a significant amount of social changes, as well. The baseball park reopens. The winter cuddle buddies slowly begin to distance themselves. Sundresses become prevalent again. (Thank God.) And, perhaps most significant, day parties and brunches become the most popular weekend activities for the young professional crowd.
I didn't understand brunch culture when I first graduated from college. My only understanding of brunch was the leftover sandwich you ate at 1 pm because you woke up late from partying the night before. When I moved to DC at age 24, I quickly realized that brunch wasn't just a meal, it was an event. You don’t just eat brunch; you do brunch. In addition to learning this new verb, I also became familiar with the idea of the day party. Day parties are exactly what they sound like; it’s a club party, but in the daytime, so you can actually see what that “cute” girl really looks like. In DC, the best day parties are usually on rooftop bars where you can enjoy the weather and party with your friends.
Now, day parties/brunch parties can be pretty fun, especially the first few times you go and the experience is new. But the more familiar you get with these settings and the more you really think about it, the idea of a brunch party in the daytime is pretty counterintuitive for a number of reasons. First and foremost, day parties usually involve alcohol, drink specials and bottle service. This sounds cool in theory, but getting tipsy at 3:30 in the afternoon isn't really all it’s cracked up to be. Depending on how hard you decide to go, you may or may not be drunk when the party ends at 6 or 7 pm. Now, you’re in no man’s land. It’s too early to call it a night, but it’s also too early for any of the actual nightclubs or bars to be open. And you can’t go home and try to go back out later in the night, because once you sit down you’re probably going to just end up passing out. You didn't think about any of this when you saw the special on Eventbrite, though. You just read “free before 4 pm with RSVP” and you were all in. Now the sun’s barely set and you’re tired, tipsy, and your feet are killing you. You've been set up.
