Ahoy! Club Zu founder Kelsey Farris re-christens a seminal San Diego soirée.
OK GURL! I know you’re coming to my party, and if you wanted to invite friends, it’s great.
Here is a little background: Long-ass story, but when I was 17, I owned a club in San Diego called Club Zu for a few years and chartered these private parties on the San Diego Harbor.
Read Kelsey’s history of Club Zu!
Facebook has reconnected me with so many people who went to Club Zu in the early ‘80s and attended one if not all three of our Club Zu boat parties. Their requests to throw another started me asking around, and this event came together.
The insane invitations are photographs of friends from the era, and the incredible graphics are courtesy of Rodney Rodney in Los Angeles.
The Hornblower Adventure comprises three floors and holds 500 people. (We’re capping attendance at 400 to keep it sane and roomy). At least three drink tickets come with the $55 admission. The party is three hours and some change, tooling around the harbor.
On the first floor: DJ Dennis McKown from San Diego’s own Studio 9 will be spinning alternative with ‘80s flair and dance.
On the deck: DJ Guy Furrow (Miss Guy) from New York will be spinning alternative, lounge, ambient and surprises.
The center floor will be a lounge to get reacquainted or meet new friends — and it has a great, intimate terrace.
It will be amazing to see everyone again and their current spouses, friends and so on. I’m thrilled to introduce my friends of today, who’ll join the celebration — we all need a little vacation!
— Kelsey Farris
Looks like a great time!
Outstanding picture of Coconut!! Excellent! I only went to club zu once, I believe- and was pretty much like a black guy at a klan rally. Anyhow- just thought I’d stop in and suggest that you guys hijack the boat and sail it to Hawaii for a Che Underground Luau. Aloha- TLH
Ha ha ha Toby! Get over here!
Where is Coconut?
I can’t wait to get my best pair of leggings and fashion forward tunic on with some sensible booties for this non-stop dance cruise around Mission Bay! the only thing missing will be my assymmetrical haircut! For me, it is great timing-I think I am finally strong enough for a big night of dancing! The Club Zu kid-turned adults will surely attend in droves-like “A Flock of Seagulls” with dancing shoes and smiling faces.
Interesting timing all the way around for this “reunion”…I just reconnected with my Torrey Pines High School Mate, Fashion Maven and Go-Go Impossible collaborator Todd Tomarrow this last week thru Kathryn Edwards via “The Che Network” (Todd is pictured in Kelsey’s posting with Steve Kirkham in the Bat Cave Club Zu Boat Party Flyer from the 1980’s)! I had been asking about Todd on this blog for over two years…and as it turns out he has been living less than 5 miles from me in San Francisco for the last six years!
Anyhow, It was my dear friend and our fellow Club Zu lover and 1980’s dance-floor-aholic; Konrad Dobrott, who told me about this Summer’s Club Zu Boat Party. Shortly thereafter, a bunch more of old friendly faces started to pop up on FACEBOOK-in rapid fire! Catherine Pierson -Waters was one of them…dance hall diva from the 1980’s, fiercely pictured in my “Rockin Sweet 16” posting.
I can’t wait to dance like it is 1984 with old friends like Konnie, Cathy Bozzo, Sarah Spry, Sara & Ann Kopels, Dirk & Dave, T-O, Bethany & Xina Lewis (and other TPHS crew members), Lonnie, the Harrells…heck Joe Bender & Ian & Anna McColl! Mark DERRINGER, perhaps…People will POP- OUT of the WOOD-WORK! Faces I can’t even get names for are coming back to me once in a while… I can’t get my head around it yet!!!Bring it on…those of us who were too young to enter into Club ID, or lived La Jolla or parts farther North or East in San Diego County and loved to dance in the mid 1980’s-this just might be the High School Reunion we have yet to attend!
Kelsey – big praise and love to you your team for putting this event together! The DJ’s & set-up sounds awesome. I wonder if you could talk Vicky Lavanti (or another hairdresser) & Todd Tomarrow into a flashback hair & fashion show! LOL!
THERE IS SOME WISDOM IN TROPICAL DRINKS AND TIKI THEMES-YOU NEVER CAN GO WRONG THERE. ESPECIALLY WITH A BOATLOAD OF PEOPLE ON A HOT, BALMY NIGHT ON THE WATERS of San Diego’s MISSION BAY!
Coconuts or not-see you in August!
Lotsa ’80s-fabulous footage from the Stratus dance club. I don’t recognize anybody yet!
Kristi! I love the old pictures -- especially the one of you and Patty with your cake -- what a beautiful girl you are! I remember those day -- Karl bringing you a single flower to class -- every day! I am trying to round up some old friends for your show on July 31 -- I just need details. All those scrubbos!
Lets see this ‘Gary’ Kathy!
August 21st at 7:00pm -- embarrass me.
The party is set in stone, and easiest to find on the Facebook event page if you type the whole ‘Club Zu Boat Party IV’ in the search section.
I have also secured a hotel for the mess of us at http://www.VistaPortoSD.com.
The party has taken on a whole new level of gorgeousness, please re-visit the event page on Facebook and turn on the original set of club goers and band members to the entertainment set.
Thank you Matthew, don’t be the ‘Gary’ on this event.