Memorial Day is upon us, which means many of us are about to enjoy the wonders of a four-day weekend (or at least a half-day Friday). Just imagine it, a four-day weekend — best enjoyed by partying so hard you forget precisely which day it is. Also brunch. Memorial Weekend means you have (at the very least) three opportunities to eat waffles and munch bacon out of a hipster Bloody Mary. What better way to host a hangover than that?
If you live in one of the five biggest party cities in the country (LA, NYC, NOLA, CHI, MIAMI) you’re probably itching to know which events are worth your time. But itch no more, we did all that work for you so you could keep your eye on the prize — drinking so many “bottomless mimosas” that the restaurant staff has to reconsider their business model.
Here are the best Memorial Day Weekend parties in America’s five biggest party cities!
CHICAGO
DrinkHaus — Sunday Day Party
820 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60607
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwXNXYBlmzi/
If you’re looking for a party that only expects you to spend money on booze, consider heading to the DrinkHause Supper Club in Chicago for their Memorial Day Weekend Sunday Day Party. DrinkHaus claims they throw the sexiest Sunday Day party in all of Chicago, and they try to ensure that by keeping a strict dress code of no athletic gear. That doesn’t mean you have to show up rocking a suit and tie, or a fancy dress — the set dress code this weekend will be Spring Chic, which seems easy enough to follow.
No tickets necessary, RSVP here!
Spirit Of Chicago — Pier Pressure
600 E Grande Ave. Chicago, IL 60611
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwFG4wrh0zK/
Springtime should be about enjoying the great outdoors. It is, after all, the most forgiving season. So spend the night before Memorial Day taking in the night sky aboard the biggest yacht party in all of Lake Michigan at this year’s Pier Pressure. Featuring three decks and two different floors of music, Pier Pressure is a two-hour booze cruise that is expected to host over 500 partygoers this weekend. Sunday’s party will be a white party, so show up to board in your best all-white spring-appropriate get-up and live that yacht life.
Get tickets here.
Bureau Bar — Urban Fêtes Silent Disco
724 West Maxwell Street, Chicago IL 60607
The Urban Fêtes party crew is bringing a special Memorial Day Weekend silent disco to Chicago’s Bureau Bar. Three different DJs will be spinning the latest hip-hop, trap, and house cuts beginning Sunday evening and bleeding until the early morning hours of Memorial Day.
Make sure you keep an eye on people’s headset colors, which change from blue to red to green depending on which DJ they’re vibing with at the moment. There is nothing more awkward than trying to impress someone with your dance moves at a different tempo from what they’re hearing!
LOS ANGELES
Angel City Heritage Music & Arts Festival
216 S Alameda St. Los Angeles, CA 90012
Every year the Angel City Brewery celebrates its birthday with the Heritage Music and Arts Festival. Bringing together the finest beer, food, and art that Angeleno’s could hope to find in one place on a Sunday, this free event will fill you up with beer knowledge thanks to the hourly brewmaster-led tours, offering you a behind-the-scenes look into the world of craft beers. Make sure you take advantage of the various food trucks that’ll be on site and try your hand at live painting. Or, you know, watch people way more talented than you paint. Either way sounds like a good time!
No tickets necessary, the festival starts at 12:00 P.M.
Treehouse Rooftop Lounge — Blame It On the Henny Day Party
86 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw7fBl2gQ24/
If you find yourself in Los Angeles this Memorial Day, be sure to check out the Treehouse Rooftop Lounge for a hip hop and r&b fueled day party. Los Angeles has been unseasonably cool this spring, but Memorial Day is set to be a particularly beautiful day for taking in the LA skyline. Seriously, LA after a rainy day — which Sunday is set to be — is one of the only days you can actually see the beauty that is the LA basin, where snowcapped hills, vast oceans, and green hillsides give a rooftop partier 360 degrees of awesome views.
This is a free event, no tickets necessary.
District 7 Bar and Lounge — Mimosa Monday
555 West 7th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90014
With so many of the parties on this list focused on the weekend proceeding Memorial Day, you may be wondering what actual Memorial Day has to offer you. If you aren’t having an epic bbq this Monday, be sure to hit up the District 7 Bar and Lounge for a Mimosa Monday celebration. For just $20, turn up with over an hour of bottomless mimosa access. Mimosa Monday tends to be popular amongst new college transplants, so if you’re new in town, definitely go get drunk on Mimosas!
MIAMI
Hyde Beach — SLS Sunday
1701 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
If you feel like wading in water this Memorial Day weekend but don’t want to hang out in the Atlantic Ocean — what with all the plastic floating around — then be sure to hit up Hyde Beach and chill out poolside to the sounds of Alex Fever, Texoh & Damaged Goods, and Chizzle.
Never heard of those DJs? It. Doesn’t. Matter. You’ll be in Miami Beach’s iconic SLS South Beach hotel getting drunk with beautiful people are dancing the night away.
STORY
136 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxqSc0GFVCa/
For the person looking for a night out in Miami Beach without having to be outside, look no further than David Grutman’s STORY nightclub. Dim lights in pleasing pink and purple tones compliment the shimmering bottles of premium liquor in this high energy night club. Personally, I’ll take LEDs cascading from the ceilings and dim table candles over the humidity of South Beach any night. One step out into that humid nightmare and my hair puffs up like Bob from That 70’s Show.
This year the entire weekend is packed with performances starstudded performances by the likes of Puff Daddy and Meek Mill.
The Fontainbleu — LIV
4441 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh19RqvHPfY/
Located in the historic Fontainebleu Hotel in Miami Beach, LIV is throwing a Memorial Day Weekend bash on Saturday, May 25th. Featuring the talents of Swedish DJ Salvatore Ganacci and Mednas, LIV is one of Miami’s most notable party hotspots, and routinely features a guest list that is home to celebrities and other VIPs from Miami’s local party scene.
NEW ORLEANS
Apres Lounge — The Prequel
608 Fulton St. New Orleans, LA 70130
Located in New Orleans’ Downtown Warehouse District, the Apres Champagne Lounge is the place to be if you want to greet Memorial Day when the sun rises. Beginning at 10:30 P.M. on Sunday evening, local DJ Keith Scott will keep the dance floor pumping into 4:00 A.M. Stumble at of the Apres Lounge and hit up an early morning NOLA breakfast spot and make it a Memorial Day to remember. Just consider taking an additional day off from work to get yourself back on track.
Colette — Memorial Day Bash
822 Gravier St. New Orleans, LA 70112
https://www.instagram.com/p/BtC5l_olCAf/
Let me just get this out of the way so there isn’t any confusion — Colette is a New Orleans swingers club. If you aren’t a swinger and have no interest in the swinging lifestyle, you probably won’t be going to Colette. But if you are down, well, Colette is the place for you. Colette’s “Memorial Day Bash” is actually on Sunday, so if you have a problem with swinging on the Lord’s day, then definitely don’t go to Colette dressed in your sexiest military themed outfit.
Keep in mind you do not need to be in a relationship to meet some swingers, just saying!
NEW YORK CITY
Schimanski — MGMT DJ Set
54 North 11th Street. Brooklyn, NY 11249
https://www.instagram.com/p/BxLNiF3F4F1/
Kick off Memorial Weekend with a psychedelic journey by checking out this special DJ Set by the weekend warriors themselves, MGMT, at Brooklyn’s Schimanski. Featuring support from Electronic artist Computer Magic, MGMT is set to MC a late night happy hour set that is sure to have everyone in attendance tripping out well through the long weekend. Move quickly though, MGMT is a big act despite not having a major hit in almost a decade, tickets are going fast!
House of Yes — Sunday Night Fever
2 Wyckoff Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11249
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw9kgQKHepK/
If your idea of a long weekend consists of platforms, disco pants, and the sounds of the hottest funk, soul, and four-on-the-floor disco then look no further than Brooklyn’s House of Yes. With inclusion and acceptance at the forefront, the House of Yes provides a space to truly let your freak flag fly. Don’t believe us? Just take a look at their website, where you’ll instantly be greeted by a nude dinosaur-headed woman while toucans in pumps flex on a floating banana and pizza slices fly across a rainbow. Need we even say more?
No tickets necessary, but RSVP for free entree here.
Kingston Restaurant and Bar — Mimosa Monday
218 West 116th Street, New York, NY 10026
After a night of partying, you’re going to need to cure that hangover. And often the best cure for a head-splitting hangover is more booze, so hit up the Kingston Restaurant and Bar for a Mimosa Monday brunch happy hour celebration. Turn up and toast the weekend goodbye as your sip on mimosas and grub on Kingston wings and jerk chicken and waffles.
No tickets necessary, $20 gets you an hour and a half of bottomless brunch cocktails!
