On their own, they’re passé and even a bit lame.
But when you combine disco — a musical genre so far out there that some might argue it’s on its way back — and bingo (stereotypically the preferred activity of blue-haired seniors) — something funny happens.
It draws crowds. Hordes of young people weary of the traditional bar scene, yet who want to take their Friday evenings a notch above game night in the family room, start to attend.
No doubt about it — Disco Bingo has taken Ottawa’s social scene by storm. It started when the same duo that brought us Spins and Needles — a popular crafts-and-music event — decided to try another idea.
Deejay Jason Pelletier wanted to do a disco music event, and was looking for something to pair it with. He found inspiration in his Maritimes hometown.
“(Bingo) is a popular pastime there,” said Pelletier, 30. “I thought, ‘why not?’”
The first event more than two years ago attracted 50 people, but has since enjoyed capacity crowds at locations like SAW Gallery, Shanghai Restaurant and, this Friday, at Humphrey’s on Bank Street.
“Bingo’s normally for seniors, but you have young people coming out to this,” Pelletier said.
“It’s a pretty wide mix of people,” agreed cofounder Melanie Yugo, 28. “You have your students and your young professionals.”
That said, “we do get a few older people, too,” Pelletier said. “And they love it. They buy tickets and they get right into it.”
It’s an improbable success story. But somehow, retro music and an even older game (complete with off-the-wall prizes such as canned spam, beef jerky, Kraft dinner and lots of mini disco balls) packs them in. The kitch element just works.
“Disco is Saturday Night Fever and dancing and bingo is sitting and smoking and seniors and churches,” Yugo said. “It’s two worlds coming together.”
And it’s accessible, she added. “Everyone knows how to play bingo.”
“I think people are looking for something different to do, something with a tactile element,” Pelletier said. “In the past, people would go out and talk, smoke, drink and eat. I think that’s gotten kind of old. Now, people want something to do when they go out.”
