Party - Sol y Luna - Harbour Party - Mrs Macquarie's Point

Reviews, By Snickers, 27th February, 2008

After the premature closure of last year’s disastrous Azure Party ordered by NSW Police, many watched on with great interest to see what would happen next to Harbour Party – an event that was once one of the most dynamic dance party experiences to be found on the planet.

The party’s time under the management of the Iris Group was clearly up and as mentioned in the review of last year’s Azure party the event was in desperate need of a new direction if it was going to return to its glory days, back when it was initially started by First Fleet productions. It also needed luck on its side, given Sydney’s unpredictable weather of late!

This year the party got both and it really worked, with a new name of Sol y Luna (Sun and Moon) and under the management of New Mardi Gras it was clear that they had taken on a much needed back to basics approach. Focus was given to the elements of the party that really made a difference to everyone’s comfort levels – wooden dance floors, some all weather cover and attention given to sound and lighting. Gone were the superfluous VIP areas – designed purely to extract more money from your pocket – and second dance floors which divided the crowd and never really worked anyway.

This year’s party turned a new page. Weatherwise Sydney turned out one of its most dazzling days ever, which really kicked it all off. A great vibe was felt from the moment punters arrived with the entrance devoid of the over the top sniffer dog and police presence that had been witnessed last year.

The crowd was a great mix of local and international visitors that were all definitely in the mood for a fun and friendly time. It wasn’t hard to be intoxicated by the sunshine, those two queens making their historic passing on Sydney Harbour and the consistently great music from Scott Pullen, Kate Monroe and Alex Taylor, which kept everyone on the dancefloor.

The crowd numbers were notably lower this year but hopefully the successful execution of Sol y Luna will restore a lot of people’s faith in this party. I think if given the chance New Mardi Gras could really go from strength to strength with this very special party that they are now custodians of.

Check out our pictures from Sol y Luna right here.