A Vision For The Future of Sunset Room

Thanks for being interested in Sunset Room’s future! I expect that means that you have played a role in Sunset Room’s past. For this I thank you. You may have seen the TEDx Talk I did in the fall, during which I praised the value of transparency. It is within that exact context that I write this letter & call to action to you. I am going to tell you a story about Sunset Room’s recent past, but mostly, I want to have you join me in creating what comes NEXT.

In a few weeks it will be Sunset Room’s 5th Birthday! A little hard to believe, actually. That’s 5 years of community music, art, dance, djs & promoters. Many dozens of different promoters, actually – some for their very first time. Many hundreds of nights. And THOUSANDS of DJ sets (I’ve done the math) – many for their first time! Along with this long history of dance nights Sunset has hosted numerous documentary film screenings, photo shoots, book fairs, all-ages punk parties, various courses, art shows, harm reduction workshops, private events, community art jams, fashion shows and much more. What a whirlwind! If you want to take a trip through time, check out the new galleries I just posted: 2007 Event Media & 2008 Event Media.

Sunset Room has always been an organic affair. When we opened the space, it was largely in response to what the community wanted at the time, so it totally makes sense that we have come full circle back to that same place. Our community wanted a place to dance, so we made one! We wanted it to go all night, we made that happen too. We wanted it to be alcohol-free, we stuck to that vision. We wanted rich colour, great friends and excellent music – and for 5 years we have done our best to provide exactly that.

Personally, building this business has served me well – I have made countless new friends, learned tons about the music scene, met my great love Kristin, had a great new place to dance in, and of course I have had a perfect space to meet in & co-create with others. I know that many things have birthed out of Sunset Room, and I expect the bulk of those creations I may never know about. New friends, new romances, new business.. new art projects, new photo shoots, new various collaborations. While this has always been the intention of this container, it is nonetheless truly great to see it made manifest in the real world.

Like much of life, I think, Sunset Room has its cycles. Good times and bad times, fun times and rough times, creative times and robotic times. I have, in this little room, experienced moments of such beauty I hoped they would not end. I also have had nights so yucky I will never share them. As a dance venue, Sunset Room exists somewhere in the borderlands between youth culture, mainstream club culture, rave culture and intentional festival culture. On any given night you are likely to see signs of all the above. And our hope has always been to play a role in bridging between these communities, such that we are all better related – more connected – more inspired. Such that everyone is accepted, and everyone goes further in accepting each other. Largely, I think we fulfill on this unique mission as well as can be done.

The latter part of 2011 was a low cycle for Sunset as a business, and as a community. I attribute this to a few factors. First, I was absent a lot as I explored other projects and interests, some of which took a ton of time & energy (VEMF, Earthdance, Victoria Public Market, etc). This absence had a real impact on the energy of the space, as well as minor operational impacts as well. Mostly, I think things just stayed the same for too long. Additionally, there was some shrinking of people’s recreation spending as a result of national economics (or concern thereof). Lastly, there were some new choices for people as to where to go and what to do with what time & money they had.

After the dust settled from Earthdance late last year we got present to how things were going, and we completely re-committed to making the space something we would all be proud of again. We created a customer market survey and asked many of you what we should be focusing on, and your generous replies have guided much of our work since then. We have made tons of changes! Let me give you the highlights of what we have accomplished!:

• major upgrades to sound, to visuals, to lighting & environments, to our crew & hospitality
• dropped the prices a bunch: 80% of our shows are now just $10 before midnight
• designed & launched LabsList – a beautiful new weekly newsletter of art, music & news
• rebuilt the stage completely to create a more interpersonal dance experience
• purchased two huge new projection screens & built a media server to deliver new visuals
• built out our Youtube Channel adding tons of original content as well as community videos
• created some more sophisticated events like Govinda, Cosmic Caravan & Erotica Electronica
• launched a new DJ comp called Bassline Warfare to highlight the diversity of local talent
• created a new Soundcloud account & began recording, cutting and uploading DJ sets for you
• created a new partnership with our Shambhala friends and launched The Labyrinth Experience, which includes an amazing new fabric decor installation every month.
• introduced an array of new performance partnerships to enhance your Sunset experience including Fire Dance Victoria, Lushious Entertainment & Cadence Fitness
• introduced an array of new interactive offerings including Trippy Magic (Jordan), Light Writer (Eli), LaserTag (Manj) & the interactive dance feedback screen!
• we have begun hosting local vendors at Sunset like KooKooMaMa Designs, Copper Bear Productions, Harmony Herbals, Miss Hooptastic, DreamCO, Lyssa’s Stitchery and others.
• …and a thousand little things that dont warrant bullets 🙂

So that brings us to today. When a business slows down for one reason or another it generally can’t turn around on a dime. It takes time to explore what changes to make, introduce those changes, and educate the community about what they are. Then of course assess how those changes are going, and likely tweak, and educate again. Transitioning a business in rough times is like turning a ship in rough seas – it can take AGES before you even have a sense that you are turning at all. In this case, we can see that things are turning. There is tons of new energy, busier nights, more private events, and generally great feedback from you – our community – about how we are doing. So far, this renewed energy has not translated into new dollars, and though I have put every dollar and every hour I have into the venue we have fallen behind to a point that our ability to remain open, to stay solvent, is now at stake. It isn’t fun sharing this – but neither is closing the doors on the only venue of this type with no warning or opportunity for you to play a role in its fate.

I don’t want to suggest we are unique in this position – many other businesses are having to dig deep to determine what comes next, as I know many of our community members are as well. As I said, things move in cycles. Perhaps this is the end of Sunset’s cycle. It’s possible. We have been going hard for 5 years – and you have been right there with us through much of it! If it is to be that Sunset has served its purpose and people have new adventures to embark on then I say THANK YOU for all the energy you have shared with us, whether as a dancer, a dj, an artist or a promoter.

Now, HAVING SAID THAT, it doesn’t feel like the end of the cycle to me. It feels like a lull – though a dangerous one, given what is at stake. Every weekend at Sunset right now we are meeting first-time guests. We are seeing the growth of the youth community and the return of the adult community. Our web traffic & newsletter subscriptions are growing dramatically. Our new entertainment & awesome partners are doing tons to help spread the word. It seems there are many, many people in Victoria – who have still never heard of us. We intend to reach them, and to WOW them.

Let me jump to the now, and to the future. My vision for the future of Sunset Room is this!:

• that it becomes profitable – and that my team and I can make a living from the work
• that we protect our all-hours dance license and that dance remains the true hub of the space
• that we remain able to donate 25% of our bookings to amazing people, projects & causes
• that we expand our collaborations, having Sunset known as a hub of creative possibility
• that we can continue to upgrade the space including furnishings & decor, sound & tech
• that through its contributions Sunset becomes thought of as a valuable community treasure
• that we continue to refine our offering so that Sunset remains the most loving, fun, creative, affordable, comfortable, innovative, community-driven venue on Vancouver Island
• that we continue to build our infrastructure to allow a greater diversity of rental use including live streaming, art shows, photo shoots, film showings, workshops and so on

I hope you will agree that we are well on our way towards this reality, but to truly & sustain-ably fulfill on this intent we need some help – and we need it presently. If your own mission & interests in life are aligned with ours, perhaps it is a fit for you to contribute in some way to Sunset’s next evolution. If it interests you to do so, there are a handful of ways you can support. I have listed them in order of what I think is simplest, to more significant. Thanks for coming along this far in my sharing!
 

1) Come Dancing More!

Check our online Calendar of Events, see what moves you, and come hit the dance floor. If you have music or dance needs that really aren’t being addressed, please let us know! If you want more of a specific type of music, please let us know! If you want us to greet you at the gate with strawberries when you arrive, please LET US KNOW. 🙂
 

2) Help Build our Online Community

Most of the people who come to Sunset are friends of the internet! Facebook, twitter, youtube, soundcloud.. they are there. And so are we! As these digital communities grow, more people see what we are up to – more people co-create with us – more people share with us what they want to see! You – our existing community – are the greatest contributors to expanding our community. Here is a list of various ways you can contribute while online:

• like the Sunset Room and Sunset Labs Facebook pages
• want music? Join our Sunset Room Events & Sunset Labs groups on Soundcloud
• BIG fan? write a recommendation on the Sunset Room facebook page
• fan of SEEING what we and others are up to? subscribe to our YouTube channel
• tweetomaniac? follow us on twitter for the most current details

3) Join Our Street Team

At the downtown intersection of Music Ave & Marketing Blvd there is a team of awesome, excitable, interpersonal & confident people who together constitute the Sunset Room Street Team – deftly navigating the city streets to spread the word on our shows, performers, producers & awesomeness. Recently we have started working towards this intention, and our team is coming to life! It’s time to take it out into the city, and here’s what it looks like!
 

4) Donate Stuff to our Garage Sale

This event has a handful of interwoven intentions! First, to free up some new space at Sunset to get creative with! Second, to clear out some stuffs & gear & things we really don’t need. Third, to raise funds to be put towards Sunset’s next evolution. Lastly, to create an opportunity for friends & community to contribute to Sunset’s longevity – through a spring thinning of things unneeded! We are requesting donations of items towards the fundraiser, which we’ll sell at the garage sale and apply all dollars from the sale directly into Sunset Room’s stability and ongoing evolution. Your contributions will make a huge difference. All the details are here!
 

5) Buy a Book of 10 Tickets

We have just launched a new multipass ticket that is valid for 10 Sunset Room parties (does not include external rental events) at just $10ea. The multipass also includes a free CD from the Sunset Promo Mix collection, as well as free admission to our next Sunset produced film screening!

6) Donate to Sunset Room

If you have come this far – you have read my Vision for the Future of Sunset Room. If you are deeply aligned with that vision – and are in a position to contribute dollars – we will gratefully accept your generosity and ensure that it is put to exactly that use. Any contribution makes a difference. And, if you have a particular wish for the application of your donation, please let us know what you have in mind and we will look for a way to fulfill it. Ultimately, Sunset Room will always intend to give out at least as much as we get – so your donation, as we see it, is an investment in local arts – in music culture – in community building – and in youth. Thank you for considering Sunset as a fit for your contribution.

7) Create An Event at Sunset Room

Ultimately, Sunset Room is a venue for creations well beyond the dance space it becomes on weekends. Sunset has hosted numerous private parties, film screenings, art shows, photo shoots, book fairs, all-ages punk shows, martial arts classes, birthday parties, various courses, video game competitions, harm reduction workshops, community art jams, fashion shows and much more. The venue is one of Victoria’s only established live stream venues, capable of delivering a multi-camera, multi-media, interactive, hi-def production of whatever you may wish to share with the world! For more information about hosting an event at Sunset Room, email us and tell us what you would like to create!

Thank You For Your Time & Energy!

Thank you so much for exploring this with me. Hopefully you see a fit for your involvement or investment somewhere in here – and if you see something we don’t see, by all means let us know as we are always game to explore new possibilities.

Bless up!

Jason & the Sunset Crew