The World’s 15 Most Scandalous Parties

The World’s 15 Most Scandalous Parties

 

So you’ve been around the block more times than the Good Humor Man, contorting yourself into pornographic pretzels and exploring the uncharted reaches of raunchy at some pretty wild parties. Well, you self-proclaimed sexpert, the time has come to crank it up a notch. Perhaps it’s time to follow in the footsteps of the gang at A3 Nightlife and go where the party leads you.

Fear not my young perverted Padawans, we did all the research for you. Pack your bags and your sexual paraphanalia. It’s time to take your sordid show on the road and visit the world’s 15 most scandalous parties! 

 15. Blind Date Party

If I didn’t know this party took place in Paris, would I still think it was so scandalous? Um, yes. Held in early March at the Bar of the Plaza Athenee, this isn’t just your normal masquerade party. There is a special, ahem, “blind date room.”

In order to participate in the Blind Date Party, you must follow these guidelines:

   1. 1. Wearing a mask is strictly requested to participate.
   2. 2. Please do not accept the hostess Invitation if you are in a couple, or in a relationship, or don’t feel like it.
   3. 3. Please do not forget to be respectful with the other guests inside the blind date room.
   4. 4. Blind date time: 7 minutes.
14. Vassar HomoHop

Don’t let the name fool you! This “celebration of sexuality and pleasure” at Vassar College caters to people of any sexual orientation. Unfortunately, the annual spectacle – at which students from many schools stripped naked, danced, watched drag queens perform, viewed pornographic films and photos, and fornicated freely – was shut down in November 1999 after dozens of students were treated for alcohol-related emergencies.

13. La Tomatina

Since 1945, about 30,000 messy party animals have been hurling tomatoes at each other on the last Wednesday in August in Buñol, Valencia, Spain. This unusual festival is the world’s biggest food fight. Nobody is quite sure how the tradition started, but apparently the festival honors the small town’s patron saints by flooding the streets with fresh, ripe tomatoes. Sure, it’s a gratuitous display of waste (look away, famine-stricken nations). But as the throngs of enthusiastic Spaniards and tourists who annually overflow the tiny town will tell you, it’s also a hell of a party – in a wet t-shirt kind of way. Which leads us to…

12. Songkran

Everybody from David Carradine’s ghost to Sister Mary Margaret knows that Thailand is the epicenter of debauchery, so it should come as no surprise to find a Thai party (or two) represented on this list. Damn, Thailand… You scandalous!

While some call it a celebration of the Thai New Year, Songkran, others simply refer to it as the world’s biggest wet t-shirt contest. The festival takes place during Thailand’s hottest time of year, mid April, and partiers cool off by throwing water at one other – buckets, Super Soakers and garden hoses are all acceptable. Although the original Songkran festival was a rather somber and reverent affair—a time to pay respect to the elders, where the water hurling symbolized a spiritual cleansing—young people have helped push the festival in the direction of wet and wild revelry.

11. Bay to Breakers

Bay to Breakers is a seven-mile drag race… err… foot race through downtown San Francisco with enough costumes, public nudity and public intoxication to make Mardi Gras just a little jealous. The party originally began in 1906 as a way to uplift bummed-out, earthquake-shaken San Franciscans. Now, earthquake or not, over 70,000 people flock downtown in costume—birthday suits included—to day-drink and be fabulous.

10. Russefeiring

And to think my graduation party was at my parents’ house!

A 300-year-old tradition that began as a Norwegian adolescent rite of passage, Russefeiring has become an insane display of youthful freedom that is anything but old-fashioned. Every year, over 10,000 high school graduates (and additional heaps of young, party-seeking tourists) gather at Olso’s Tryvann Park in what might be the world’s craziest graduation party. Think binge drinking, public intercourse and all-around public disturbance. Teens will be teens. Even if they’re Norwegian.
9. Playboy’s Midsummer Night’s Dream Party

Founded in the 1970’s, Playboy’s Midsummer Night’s Dream Party took a recent hiatus during the time founder Hugh Hefner was married. But it’s back in full force and has been running at the Playboy Mansion in L.A. for the last six years. The party usually takes place on the first Saturday in August, beginning at 8 P.M. and running into the wee hours of the morning. Refreshments include a sushi and seafood buffet and several open bars with top-notch alcohol, as well as trays of hors d’oeuvres and Jell-O shots, which are passed among the 1,000 guests by women wearing nothing but painted-on costumes.

Who Goes: Hugh Hefner determines the guest list, which has included friends such as Britney Spears, Leonardo DiCaprio, Owen Wilson and even Mini-Me. And don’t forget the bunnies.

Dress Code: There is a different theme every year, and guests dress accordingly.

8. Full Moon Party

The island of Ko Pha Ngan in Thailand hosts an all-night beach party before or after every full moon. The tradition began in the 1980’s as a simple gathering to give thanks to a group of tourists and over time has evolved into a 20,000-strong super-celebration that is sure to be on every party-loving tourist’s itinerary. In addition to the pounding music and attractive crowd, the event boasts features like fire skipping ropes, infamous “buckets” of alcoholic beverages and a pretty colorful drug culture. In other words, the only way you’re going home alone after this one is if you’re dead.

7. Trinidad and Tobego Carnival

Rio gets all the love when it comes to Carnival, but Trinidad and Tobego’s version is nothing to sneeze at. Celebrated during the two days before Ash Wednesday, Trinidad and Tobego’s Carnival easily rivals its famous competitor with equally outlandish costumes, exhibitionism, nonstop calypso and soca music, and all-around blissful pandemonium. It is said that when islanders aren’t celebrating Carnival, they’re either preparing for it or reminiscing over it.

6. Mardi Gras

With the motto “laissez les bon temps rouler” (or “let the good times roll”), how can one not expect to have a wild and scandalous time? I mean, c’mon, Mardi Gras has it all — crazy costumes and the “Three Bs”: booze, beads and boobs! Beginning on or after Epiphany and ending on the day before Ash Wednesday, it’s amusing to think that this religiously-based event is in actuality everything the devil stands for. That’s right, debauchery… and lots of it.

5. Exotic Erotic Ball

The venue for this party is called The Cow Palace in San Fansisco, but don’t let that fool you! Once a year, Perry Mann’s Exotic Erotic Ball turns this former livestock pavilion into one of the sexiest places on the planet. The party starts with a sexpo (that’s a sex industry expo, for those of you not in the loop) where you can find the latest from sex dolls to butt-plugs shaped like the Virgin Mary – seriously. Think if it as K-mart for degenerates, and yes, it’s as awesome as it sounds. The after party is the Exotic Erotic Ball itself, and things can get pretty wild. Expect weird and wild costumes, a human petting zoo, body-paint bikinis, fantasy and fetish rooms, and thousands of guests. The Exotic Erotic Ball is like a mixed cocktail made from the hottest ingredients on the planet. Just add two parts masquerade, one part fetish party, one part burlesque, and a dash of rock and roll. Shake well, garnish with your favorite dildo and serve hot to 20,000 guests.
4. Burning Man

There are no rules at Burning Man. There is no commerce. There are no cell phone towers. And oftentimes, there are no clothes. Burning Man is an annual festival held in the middle of the Nevada desert. It is somehow an experiment in community, expression, and art, but what that really means is that it’s a weeklong free-for-all full of naked, painted bodies, wild all-night parties, and hippie hedonism to the max. There are drugs, drinks and lots of sex, sure, but the real idea is to let your inner wild-child be free to frolic through the desert with 40,000 of your new closest friends – many of them nude or wearing some wild costume. So get wild! Dress like a butterfly and get down with a painted hippie or hang out in the Bordello of Dust and peep in the windows of Amsterdam Alley for a bit of sleazy burlesque. Whatever you end up doing, you’re sure to have a sexy and unforgettable time.
3. Hedonism
Hedonism is a state of mind, a wild and lustful way of life. It’s also a clothing-optional resort in Jamaica where wild and lustful are just the beginning. This all-inclusive resort offers everything you need to forget about the real world back home. Let your fantasies and carnal desires run wild! Start your day with a skinny dip in the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean. How about a game of nude beach volleyball or a nude cruise, complete with a bit of strip-snorkeling? Once the sun goes down, things get even wilder, with sensuous cuisine and multiple bars for mingling, flirting, and hopefully making good use of the multi-headed showers or your in-room Jacuzzi. This place is a legendary getaway for swinging couples, so don’t be surprised if you get invited to an orgy or two.

2. Carnival

Brazil is sexy, there’s no doubt about that. The hot climate and hard bodies ooze sensuality and lust. There’s beaches, music, tanned bodies, and dances featuring gyrating everything. If that weren’t enough, they have Carnival, a weeklong celebration of decadence and extravagant, fantastically-costumed partying. In Rio de Janeiro and Salvador Bahia (two of the hottest hotspots for Carnival), the streets get completely packed with bronzed bodies, wearing little more than Brazilian-style bikinis, and bright, feathered head dresses. Participants whirl around in outlandish costumes, whipped into a feverous frenzy by the samba-reggae rhythms. If you’re going to go to Brazil, and you’re looking for a taste of that sultry Brazilian style, Carnival will blow your freakin’ mind.

1. Love Parade

You’d expect a festival founded on love, peace, and togetherness to be full of hippies celebrating the wonders of patchouli and power crystals. But in reality, Germany’s Love Parade is full of sexy exhibitionists celebrating decadence and skimpy outfits – not to mention their love of electronic music and ecstasy. The number of participants has varied wildly in the last few years, partially due to legal issues and commercial sponsorship, turning some people off of the event. Either way, the throbbing multitude of costumed partiers and the rumble of Europe’s top house DJs should keep the love alive. Expect drugs, public sex, and non-stop after-parties in cavernous warehouses. This is the epitome of the Euro-rave scene. If you can’t get laid here, there’s probably no hope for you.