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Republic Day caught us a bit bored and a bit stale drunk from the 'night before the holiday', but definitely more than a bit ready to hit up another event. So we rolled up Santa Cruz towards the Misty Ridge ranch for what promised to be the ""most stylish event for the year"" … Shades.

Some of the patrons (including yours truly) made sure to stick to the khaki & white dresscode, but with hardly any sunshine and rain all day, folks were taking even longer than usual to fill the venue. We already saw that this dance was off to a late pick up.

While the Ranch is a really nice setting, rainy season doesn’t mix well with outdoor partying … especially when it’s a lawn covered area. Within the first ten minutes we were already splashed with mud … ha ha. Maybe we should have come equip with a pair of tall galoshes like the two brethren we saw earlier. They were ready for a hurricane and all … lol!

The DJs were trying their best, but even with all the free alcohol most people were still hiding out under tents or maintaining higher ground on the wooden platforms laid down here and there. Speaking of free alcohol … the wide variety ranged from rum to vodka, beer, cocktails and even wine.

By sundown not only did the shades come off, but the shoes did as well and the crowd slowly started squelching their way out onto the muddy dancefloor. Now this party was supposed to wrap up by 8pm, but soon enough was extended to 11 as organizers realized things really started to pick up after nightfall.

The free drinks did its job in getting folks to loosen up and soon a vibe was going. Music was blasting … alcohol was flowing and people were dancing. We even got a surprise performance from Swappi, who appeared out of nowhere! Later on, where he and all the bess things that suddenly came out to palance in the mud (shoes in hand) appear from …I don’t know??!!

When things became a bit too heated, we decided to run over to the 'Beacon Sober Zone' to take in the vibez from a distance. There we got doubles, we got corn soup and we get free light up shades (with adjustable settings for flash). Bess!!

Later on in the night, when the corn soup man started packing up and man was begging for “just ah lil channa in ah cup” by the doubles cart, we knew it was time to head out. All and in all, it was a decent fete. Maybe 2pm was too early a start for the fete, or maybe it was the weather that got things off to a late start. Either way, alcohol was flowing the whole night through and the DJs really did a great job. So much so that eventually they got most patrons to come out into the mud.

After buying up the remaining 3 bottles of water from the bar, we trekked back to the parking lot and attempted to wash off most of the mud before getting into the car. What started off more along the lines of a social gathering soon turned into an enjoyable night of partying. Also you hardly get a sweeter venue than the Ranch! Shoes and “neon-light-up” shades in hand, we departed …

D' Local Juice

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