Papa: The daddy of circuit parties

WITH the festival season in full swing, Australia is anticipating the arrival of Eliad Cohen, the creator and face of Papa Party, who shared withtheStarObserverthelengthshehasgone to putting his circuit parties together and what he has planned for his trip down under.

Before getting into party talk, Cohen said he was planning on being a tourist while here, but lamented that his time was tight.

“I’d like to fit in as much as possible while I’m there,” he said.

“Unfortunately, I can’t stay for as long as I’d like to, because we have parties in Rio and Florianopolis for Carnival, but while we’re here we plan to get some sun, hang out with local Aussie friends, and check out all the touristy stuff.”

The local men have previously caught his eye, with Cohen adding: “All the (Aussie boys) I know are super nice, handsome and speak English well.”

For those local lads that want to catch up with Cohen, that will be a little tricky. He explained he was only making one public appearance: “Papa will be the only club appearance, but I’ll be shooting an advertising campaign for BCNU Clothing in various locations around Sydney. And of course we’ll be visiting all the tourist sites.”

The party creator reflected on what has made his events such a hit.

“The international success of the Papa Parties has a lot to do with the high-energy vibe that translates from music to show to theme to crowd interaction. There is very muchaninteractivequalityoftheparties.No party is good without great music, so that’s always our number one concern,” he said.

The Papa parties also have groupies that follow it and Cohen thought they were part of its success.

“We have found that our crowd follows the Papa World Tour and is familiar with a lot of the thematic qualities that we bring to each party, be it showing up with mustache t-shirts or dressing like one of the characters from our promo videos. It’s a very upbeat and positive experience, and I think that resonates with everyone,” he said.

Cohen also said that each event had an overall theme, despite being tightlipped about what he had planned for his Australian partygoers.

“We spend quite some time planning each Papa Party around the world. There are obviously themes that translate across borders, but we try to find a unique element that represents each country that we visit,” he said.

“We plan themes, costumes, video installations and promo videos that all create a cohesive experience for the guests. And we work hard to create a particular ‘sound’ that will have people dancing non-stop.”

The trek to Australia did not make Cohen feel daunted.

“We travel rather extensively, so we have sort of figured out how best to get our Papa assetsinplace,”he said.

“Of course Australia is a little farther than we’re used to, but the same sort of preparation goes into making sure all the elements are where they need to be whether the party is in Sydney, Tel Aviv, or New York.”

Cohen further reiterated that the theme of his parties was something he carefully curated: “We theme our events internally, and then work with some of the best costume designers, video directors, graphic designers and art directors to bring our concept to life.

“I think some of the events that stand out most are Tel Aviv Pride: Warrior, NYC Halloween, and our early Middle Eastern theme that really had a tremendous amount of traction,” he added.

Cohen also promised big things for the Sydney party.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone at Papa Sydney… It’s going to be a great party,” he said.

INFO: Papa Sydney is on from 10pm on February 22 at Midnight Shift, 85 Oxford St, Darlinghurst. Tickets online via Moshtix or Ticketbooth