2020 gave everyone a reality that they were not expecting and even though Secret Summer could not have their usual seasonal fête, that did not stop the team from brainstorming an event that could still take place at the Foundry while keeping everyone safe and practicing social distancing and thus, SSUNDAZE was born.

Created to be a health and wellness series that happens under the stars, the format of the event starts with panels with socially distanced seating areas and erupts into cocktails and spaced out dancing later in the evening. The event was scaled back to allow less attendees and broken up over multiple events over the course of a month to follow safety guidelines and protocols.

While the event had to be reinvented, some of the popular components were still present, like the farm to table cocktail offering. Some of our favorites from the night were the Glyph Summer Hemp Smoked Manhattan made in a smoker, Frozen Mezcal Verde Spicy Cucumber Turmeric Margarita, and the Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin cocktails with the back of the car setup.

Another fan favorite from Secret Summers past is the music portion of the evening and the events did not disappoint. For the night we attended, performances included DJ Deana Sophia during the day, the music stylings and fancy footwork of saxophonist Leo P., a high energy performance as usual by the High & Mighty Brass Band and DJ Eric Visa ending the night. Activities like aura and tarot card readings rounded out the entertainment for the event.

As usual no one wanted to leave and everyone stayed until lights up, which is always a good sign. We were so grateful to celebrate with the Secret Summer community that has grown over the years. We also cannot wait to visit Festival, the farm to table cocktail bar that the team just opened, to reminisce over the fun we just had!

– Stephanie Carino

Photos courtesy of Secret Summer and by Stephanie Carino