Guild Hall’s Community Social & Spooky Silent Dance Party

Guild Hall continued its offsite programming in a scarily festive way on Saturday, October 22 at the Community Social & Spooky Silent Dance Party at LTV Studios in Wainscott. The event offered an opportunity for guests of all ages to don Halloween costumes to mix, mingle, eat, drink, and most importantly, dance.

The event began at 6 PM with an hour-long acoustic and vocal set by Josh Brussels. Andressa Costa of Oysterbliss strolled through the crowd shucking and serving fresh Peconic Bay oysters, and guests helped themselves to pizza from Roberta’s, savory bites by East Hampton Kitchen, and sweet treats from Lil’ Birdie. A plentiful ice cream bar by Big Olaf Ice Cream Shop was later unveiled, initially hidden behind rolling walls to create a theatrical surprise. Kidd Squid beer provided three types of brews, and the younger guests enjoyed a special neon green witch’s brew, garnished with rainbow sherbet and gummy worms. All refreshments were generously donated by the various local businesses.

At 7 PM the party went to the next level with DJ Lightning and DJ YourHonor of Quiet Events, who spent the next three hours spinning popular dance tunes on three separate channels, ranging from ’70s disco and funk, to hits from the ’80s, to today’s top 40. Guests were able to converse easily thanks to the booming music being streamed into the wireless headphones, only occasionally having to raise their voices over the dancers singing along and cheering with glee. Attendees were able to capture the excitement of the evening in a 360˚ photo/video photo booth by 360 Photo Booth Long Island.

The undisputed star of the party was Billy Field and his impressive collection of Halloween decorations he and his granddaughter Samantha Young painstakingly unearthed from the basement of his Sherrill Road home in East Hampton, which he has elaborately decorated for over 28 years to the delight and terror of trick or treaters. With the house now on the market and Field preparing to move to North Carolina, he was recruited as “Demon of Décor” for the event and did not disappoint by filling every square inch of the large studio and beyond with his creepy creatures, many of which were animated in both humorous and frightening ways.

For this pre-Halloween fête, guests were encouraged to come in costume and prizes were awarded for Overall Best (most creative), Most Artful (inspired by artwork or an artist), Scariest (which Field unsurprisingly won), Funniest, and Best Group.

The event was chaired by Guild Hall’s Amy Kirwin, Rory McEvoy of Sag Harbor’s Kidd Squid Brewing Co., and East Hampton Kitchen’s Annie Washburn. Co-Chairs included Mario Arakelian of Canoe Place Inn & Cottages, Southampton Village Trustee Robin Brown, Michael Clark of LTV, photographer Jessica Dalene Weber, Rollin’ with Rambo’s Samantha Duane, Brandon Hoy of Roberta’s Pizza, Alexis Krisel and Kye Vatash of ‘Lil Birdie, Jessica Mackin-Cipro of James Lane Post, Corcoran’s Mary Slattery, and Jesse Warren of Tenet.

The evening was sponsored in part by Lincoln IT, with community partner Mary Slattery of The Corcoran Group, and media partner James Lane Post. Event supporters included Big Olaf Ice Cream Shop, Citarella Gourmet Market, East Hampton Kitchen, Kidd Squid Brewing Co., Lil’ Birdie, Oysterbliss, and Roberta’s Pizza.