This was a fun-filled weekend from beginning to end, packed with something for everyone to enjoy. From music to kickball, there was barely time to rest from one celebration to the next. If you didn’t go to any of these events, you missed out on an awesome weekend, but now’s your chance to catch up!

Thursday – Drake Day @ ChicpeaJC HQ

To celebrate her birthday, Chicpea planned an office party we called Drake Day (funny, because they’re both Canadian and Jewish). We had a few people in the office while Conundrum, Karma, and Petey (of PeteyxKraze) stopped by to perform a set of Drake’s hits and Chicpea’s favorite Drake songs. From 0 to 100 to Controlla to Best I Ever Had, we had 20 minutes of music performed in the office and loved every second of it. We had pizza for everyone from Helen’s Pizza (a local favorite), Rachael Robbins was here mixing drinks, and Emma from Milk Sugar Love brought a delicious cake to the party (chocolate + Nutella ice cream = yum)! All in all, it brought a whole new meaning to the term “office party.”

 

Friday – Quiet Clubbing @ Transmission

Another installment of quiet clubbing in Jersey City to follow up the first one we had to kick of the Fourth of July weekend, and it was amazing! Transmission was packed with people, and it never stops being funny when you take off your headphones to see a whole group of people passionately singing My Own Worst Enemy by Lit or trying to rap along to Panda by Desiigner. We had three awesome DJs – Stadium Status, Robcast, and Izzy E (from Quiet Events)– and it became a bit of a competition to see which DJ was best. We also had iceys from Cool Suppliers, made with all-natural ingredients and tasting better than literally any icey I’ve ever had. Basically, no one wanted the party to end!

Thanks to Quiet Events for the equipment and helping us bring this event together. There may even be more happening in the near future…

Join us once again for another quiet clubbing event on Saturday, August 13th! You know the drill: free iceys, 3 DJs, and a hell of a good time. Get your tickets here!

Saturday – Forever Young Festival @ The Pop Up Project LSP

What better way to spend a day in 95º weather than to hang out at an outdoor party? The Forever Young Festival was a huge success, thanks to everyone who came out! From vendors to supporters, we had a great turnout and the party vibes were going strong all day long.

HayOner hosted the party, doing what he does best – hyping up the crowd and making sure everyone’s having a good time in between sets.

The acts gave their all for their performances and we loved every minute of it. The amount of talent from beginning to end was nothing short of amazing. DJ Bizznice opened up the festival before Giselle showcased her incredible voice for the crowd. Following her were PeteyxKraze and TJay, as well as Debra Devi.

We had Bodega Dream perform a powerful set, keeping the crowd interested and impressed. Hero Gawd took to the stage to hype up the crowd and gave us some major Jimmy Hendrix vibes. Conundrum + Karma brought their soulful sound to the stage.

Throughout the night, we had DJ Bizznice, DJ Scott Lauren, DJ Get Loose, and DJ Rob Cast playing music in between performances to keep the party going.

Girl group Retro Glam brought their incredible voices to the festival and wowed everyone.

7triiibes + Lowdownlords performed just as night fell, and the party’s energy only got better from there. Chicpea has been loving them lately, so she was front and center the whole time!  We also had local favorite Mateo Ahki perform and he did not disappoint. J Littles, Portalroq Jay, and Geo La Locura closed out the performances and kept the energy flowing.

The diversity of the artists at the festival allowed us to show the community the range of talent we have around us. Thank you to all the artists who gave us their time and effort for this festival!

Our vendors were also a huge part of our event, providing goods and services of every kind. From soap to hair-braiding, there was something for everyone to enjoy! Ed Harbison brought his art to the festival, and nearby were Villainous NY, House of Gains, Taproot Organics, 90s Hip Hop Junkie, and Milk Sugar Love.

On the second half of our space, we had ME Casa, Left Bank Burger Bar, Swati Rastogi doing henna tattoos, and The Hair Room with a braiding station. Our food vendors were incredible, it was almost difficult to decide what to eat at the festival. So much good food in one place!

Thank you to all the vendors who were present and willing to share their services with the community!

We had a dunk tank to raise money for charity (donated to the Liberty Humane Society). In case you missed it – Chicpea, HayOner, and Andy Mac were all dunked at some point during the night!

Water guns were also available, which were great for cooling off in the heat and just having fun. If you were standing anywhere near the stage, there’s a good chance you got water sprayed on you!

Overall, the turnout was better than expected and the party was a blast! Whether you were a part of the event or simply driving by The Pop Up, we want to thank everyone who attended. This was a night to remember and we’re happy to bring this festival to Jersey City every year! This was just to first of many more to come.

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A note from ChicpeaJC

Alex did an amazing job with this writeup, I couldn’t have said it any better! To be honest, while planning this event I had no idea what to expect… all I knew is that I wanted everyone to have a good time and create positive memories. In a way this festival felt bigger than me, and I did not want to let anyone down.

There were a few factors going against us, one thing it was almost 100 degrees out, another thing is the Pop up is a new location and not really the easiest to get to, and lastly there were about 50 other events happening in JC that day. Then 4pm rolled around and we got a steady stream of people coming in and the party started.

The performances were amazing, the vendors kicked major ass, and the DJ’s kept the good vibes going. It was really a day to remember.

My personal highlights were having my own drink on the menu the “Chic-tini” and Haytham got the “Oh Hay”.

Being in the dunk tank for an hour and getting dunked multiple times, I can honestly say it was pretty refreshing and I enjoyed talking shit and provoking people. We were able to raise $120 which was donated to the Liberty Humane Society.

Seeing the legendary 7Triiibes perform live on stage, which was absolutely epic. I am a huge fan of theirs, they are on another level! I went crazy right in front of the stage it was awesome.

Watching the kids mosh when Mateo went on stage and Haytham soaked them with water guns…

Eating a Left Bank Burger and Fries at the end of the night like it was my last meal..

And… watching all these beautiful people smile and having fun.

I woke up the next day, and all I saw on my social feeds were photos and videos from the Festival and it made all the hard work so worth it. Next year it will be bigger and better.

A special thank you to all the vendors for taking a chance on this event with us and making it a great one.

Tony from Rockit-Docket for saving us with sound equipment and our dope sound guy!!

Special thanks to Jeremy the boss man of the Popup at LSP, he was so wonderful to work with!! and his whole crew for making this a night to remember.

A special thanks to the ChicpeaJC squad for volunteering! Alex, Diana, Nettie, Evelyn you guys are awesome.

Shout out to Andy Mac for taking dope pictures

Special thanks to Scott our Stage Manager!! You killed it.

Shout outs to Omar for helping us out getting everything together the day of.

Special love goes to Rachel from the HDSID for sponsoring tents and tables for our vendors.

Sunday – Kickball @ Mosquito Park (Leonard Gordon Park)

Chicpea and HayOner gathered their teams to play kickball at Mosquito Park around noon. About 60 people showed up, which is incredible (especially for a Sunday)!  It was the perfect end to the weekend before the week kicked off again with some work.

Thanks again to everyone involved throughout the weekend! From the early planning stages till the very end, it was nice to see everyone’s support and be surrounded by a community willing to spread positive vibes and just have a chill time.