Ambiance, music and light can make or break a club. Pink Elephant, the newest club on the Namal (Tel Aviv Port) is almost entirely outdoors. It has an Astroturf garden peppered with couches and low tables, feeling more like a nighttime garden party than a pulsing club. The dance floor on the opposite side of central, square bar certainly has a more club-esque feel, though because the Pink Elephant is not in a confined space, it lacked the claustrophobic element common in many of its indoor counterparts. Pink Elephant has received a special permit to play music at higher volumes than any other outdoor facility, boasting the “best [outdoor] sound on the Namal”. The music was mainly club standards; popular hip hop interspersed with some light techno, a few pop numbers and some Israeli rock. The sound quality was impressive, with the volume adjusted to simultaneously allow conversations on the Astroturf and encourage patrons to get their groove on the dance-floor. They certainly were. The lighting is dim; perhaps this is my overly developed sense of cynicism, but I have always believed this to be a mechanism to make people seem more attractive than they really are. Most clubs implement this feature; this synthesized with alcohol are often a confidence booster for less fortunate looking individuals. The clientele at Pink Elephant is not universally beautiful, a criteria that one often finds at some of the higher end clubs (and to be quite frank is eerily disturbing. Such a high concentration of good looks is both unnatural and disconcerting.) However, it attracts a more mature crowd, with an impressively equal ratio of guys and gals. Although the age limit varies each night, Tuesdays are restricted to those born in 1985 or before, with Wednesdays open to those twenty five and up.
Last Thursday, Pink Elephant hosted gay night, bringing in over 1600 people. The night was a huge success; most gay nights are held in smaller, mainly indoor clubs such as Lima Lima and TLV, drawing many to this new and upcoming open space. Another attraction for the homosexual community is the Ladies’ Party to be held at the Pink Elephant this Saturday night, featuring DJs Keren Dotan & Tami Bibring. The party is a day after Tel Aviv’s Gay Pride Parade and is in honor of Tel Aviv’s one hundredth anniversary, celebrating “one hundred good reasons for pride in Tel Aviv”. Although Pink Elephant is not looking to become an exclusively gay club, it is open to niche events that may become a regular occurrence.
This Sunday, the Pink Elephant is hosting a philanthropic event, hosted by Maccabi World Union. Although Maccabi is best known for the Maccabiah-the “Jewish Olympics”- it is involved in many other social action and informal education programs, such as the Maccabi World Union’s Young Leadership initiative. This program sponsors Jewish athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds from around the world, allowing them to participate in this summer’s Maccabiah Games in Israel. All proceeds from ticket sales will go directly to the initiative.
So put on your party dress and strap on your high heeled shoes, it’s time to go dancing at the Pink Elephant.
For more information about the Ladies’ Party:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=109875158781&ref=ts#/event.php?eid=109875158781
For more information about the Maccabi Young Leadership Kick-Off Party:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/event.php?eid=86397368175
