More than 15 Aberdeen businesses have teamed up to throw the ultimate stay-in May Day house party.
Due to lockdown rules currently put in place by the government, people are more or less confined to their homes.
Keen to lift the spirits of the north-east with 12 hours of live music from Aberdeen bars and DJs streaming online via YouTube, and to raise money for charity, PB Devco’s operations director Paul Clarkson is behind Virtual May Day which will take place on Sunday May 3.
Paul said: “The real motivation was to try to bring together a number of local businesses to see what we could come up with jointly.
“We’re hoping to do something really special for the Aberdeen community on a day which is prevalent in the minds of the whole city as being a day for really enjoying yourself.”
Paul said he was able to easily persuade a number of Aberdeen bars to take part in the event – which is being supported by media partner and Evening Express magazine, Society.
He stated: “The great thing about Aberdeen is that we all know each other pretty well, so I got on my phone and managed to get in touch with the general managers from Revolution, Siberia Bar & Hotel and Revolucion De Cuba to begin with and they were up for the idea.”
Paramount, 21 Crimes and drinks delivery business Rutabaga also agreed to be part of the upcoming virtual event.
In addition, eateries Melt and Muchacho will be offering May Day food, with Aberdeen Taxi pledging their support to deliver to homes in the north-east.
A number of local DJs and singer Myke Black will also perform on the day.
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Paul said: “I also spoke to Touch of Class, who provide DJs for a lot of bars around Aberdeen, and the guys from Trash Disco who Soul and myself have had a long association with.
“Each bar’s DJ will get a chance to play all the funky and electric house music which is accustomed to that popular event.”
In the week leading up to the May Day event, participating businesses will share a number of tutorials on their social media channels.
Paul said locals can expect to see various challenges, how-to do make up, hair and cocktail videos, and even competitions.
Paul added he would encourage locals to throw a party in their homes and involve their neighbours – while practising social distancing, of course.
He said: “There have already been so many amazing examples all over the world how to do this safely.
“For example, singing and playing music from balconies and dancing and exercising in residential areas and driveways.
“I would absolutely love it if we saw videos and photos being posted of people dancing in their gardens with their neighbours next door while our music stream plays in the background.”
Paul would also love to see people dressing up for the occasion – as is a May Day tradition. Tiger Lily Boutique, Signature Menswear, Vanity Studio and Linton & Mac are all taking part in the virtual event, offering discounts and hair and make-up tutorials online.
The Virtual May Day will also aim to raise funds for Mental Health Aberdeen and NHS Grampian’s Endowment fund, which provides comfort boxes containing treats, snacks and toiletries for staff and patients in hospitals in the north-east, as well as fund local research into coronavirus. For more information, go to virtualmayday.com
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