Who said that the only time you can enter a party atmosphere is when the nightclubs are open? As people grow older, not as many want to wait until 10:00 PM to enjoy a fun night of music. Who can blame them? For Simon Says Victoria, nightlife is a thing of the past. Early evening life is more their style, which is why they hosted Victoria’s first, “Coffee Rave”.
What exactly is a Coffee Rave? Well from what we gathered, it’s an early evening party that takes place at a coffee shop and instead of throwing back alcoholic beverages, you are sipping a nicely prepared café drink from a barista. Seems simple enough to work, and it did. For their first Coffee Rave, Simon Says took over Deer & Dough Bakery Café from 5 – 7 PM on April 18th, 2026 with DJ Sport Mode. For the next two hours, patrons would enter the cafe’s doors to discover a great mix of music and would proceed to dance, snack, and live in the moment.
DJ Sport Mode provided a well-curated, no request set for those in attendance. From Madonna’s Vogue to Peggy Gou’s D.A.N.C.E, the selection was perfect for this event. Usually, DJs perform around strobe lights, LED screens, and other lighting rigs. That wasn’t the case for this event, especially since the sun shined through the window of the shop. To create a visually pleasing experience, Simon Says took to DIY practices and utilized reflective material to create a cool look. Automatic bubble makers were also used throughout the set. Overall, a very fun way to turn an unconventional space into a dancer’s paradise.
If you are wanting to ditch the nightlife for an earlier evening party, or you are just looking for a fun way to pre-game before that late night event, look no further than the coffee rave concept. Since this first event, duplicate events have started popping up around the city. The trend has already picked up some steam, and all it took was for someone to try it first. We want to thank Simon Says Victoria for the invitation to their event. We are happy we got to experience something new and can’t wait to see where this evening goes next.
