Serious FunCult Party
Ok, the best parties open up different avenues for social interaction — like, you can stand around talking about what you do for a living… but wouldn't you rather jump into a mini-reality together and let that spark new kinds of conversations?
It's all about creating a space where people can cut loose and be free.
With Cult Party specifically, the way to do that is by becoming a cult. So it comes with all the things you expect from a cult — the lovable things — rituals, bullshit wisdom, an initiation ceremony where everyone receives a colorful unibrow.
One eyebrow.
And then it kind of effortlessly morphs from cocktail party with culty overtones into a ritual human sacrifice. Burying a friend in pillows and blankets.
The idea is that an individual — the individual — needs to be sacrificed to fuel the group identity…
One group.
Then a resurrection. The Glorious One reborn as the Glorious We…
We are cult.
And the release — a light, ecstatic dance party, bubbling over into collective effervescence. This Durkheim thing.
If you want to follow it all the way through, grab the guide and let's go…
The party guide is 50% logistics, 50% magic.
All the elements, extensive party signage, and scripture direct from The Leader.
A bit culty, very vibey. Funky afrobeat, cosmic jazz, potentially some new sounds depending on what vibes you traffic in.
A 3-act structure invisible to the guests, but it helps you orchestrate the experience and gives shape to the night. Biggest design choice — The Leader is absent, so no one needs to try embodying a charismatic cult ringleader. No acting required!
That's the thing cults get right — belonging. To cultivate belonging within the party, my thinking is grounded in the work of Émile Durkheim, a founding father of sociology. Collective effervescence is what he called the energy released when groups gathered around a shared identity, a phenomenon he observed across several premodern societies… I think it's high time we learn how to revive it.