How to Throw a Kick-Ass Party

By events organizer Cacay Moras, as told to RJ Ledesma, originally appearing in UNO Magazine’s March 2010 issue.

Throwing parties, is it in the blood?
I’m the current events organizer of the monthly Fabric Fashion Show at Encore and Capone’s Bar in A. Venue. I like throwing parties because I’m a Leo, and Leos are very social creatures. We want to be around people all the time. We like making people happy in the craziest possible way that we can. The party has to be crazy, and it has to give you a rush or else, it’s not worth it.

How to make a party kick-ass
A truly kick-ass party has to be original: there has to be something novel about every party to keep the guests coming. That is why I don’t organize weekly parties anymore as they tended to become very stale— you’ve got the same DJ and the same boring activity.

As a partygoer, one of the truly kick-ass parties that I attended was the first Classic 99 party organized by Ivan Zalameda. I was a big fan of trance music back in the late nineties, before the club scene gave way to house music. So when Ivan put together the first Classic 99, it brought together all of us trance fans that shared the same type of vibe.

But some of the best parties I’ve attended don’t need to have any theme or occasion. These are the type of parties that happen at the last minute when you just call a couple of friends, close down a place, and say that you just really want to party.

Good vibrations
It depends because there are different levels of kick-ass. You could have intimate parties or the extra huge ones. Stephen Ku of the World Wide Womb threw great kick-ass parties in Embassy (now known as Encore). He brought in Tiesto. But I’ve also attended really great parties in Nuvo where you have an intimate gathering of twenty to thirty.

When you’ve been in the party/events industry long enough, you know the right mix of people to invite for the more intimate parties, and these are the type of people who know that ‘What happens in the party, stays in the party’ (laughs).

But a kick-ass party really has nothing to do with the size of the venue. It’s all about the people and the vibe that they bring to party. It is the who that matters.

Poison of choice?
Johnnie Walker. Definitely Johnny Walker (laughs).

This is how we do it in Cebu
In Manila, a kick-ass party usually starts at night. But, in Cebu, any time of the day is fine. There’s no such thing as “time of day.” You can decide after lunch to go on a boat and head to Bohol, or hang out on the beach, or go diving. You live a great lifestyle in Cebu because it is complete. You’ve heard of that cliché “its now or never?” In Cebu, “its now or later.” Partying is inevitable. That’s why I moved to Manila from Cebu eight years ago—to teach Manileños how to party (laughs).

Keep the party going
A kick-ass party should last long, but short enough to give you time to recover, so you can function the next day.

And, finally, how do you know the party was kick-ass?
When somebody asks you the next day, ‘How was the party?’ and you answer, ‘I don’t know’ with a big, fat smile on your face.