The Blue Note hosted a “thank u, next” anti-Valentine’s Day dance on Feb 15. While the event was open to everyone, the event’s Ariana Grande themed title and its marketing made it clear that it was aimed toward making a mostly singles space during this couples-focused time of the year.
“It was a very empowering night,” MU sophomore Alexis Hanks said. “There was a lot of supportive energy that night, and it felt really nice to have a night to celebrate each other.”
The Blue Note partnered with the Y107 radio station and charged a $5 entry fee for a night of dancing, discounted drink specials and other entertainment and activities on The Blue Note’s stage, which was decorated to fit the occasion.
“The decorations were nice,” MU junior Alexandra Roper said. “The hearts hung above the stage had edgy sayings on them [like ‘nah’, ‘boy bye’ and ‘I’ve had better’] and were pink and black, so pretty sick.”
Keeping true to the whole anti-Valentine’s Day theme, attendees could write an anonymous burn to their exes and have the chance for it to be read aloud to the crowd. Junior Emma Wickland found this to be her favorite part of the night.
“Everyone has some sort of awkward [or] downright horrible experience with an ex, so it was kind of a collective ‘screw you’ to the person written about,” Wickland said.
Wickland also brought up another reason why an event like this would be successful, especially in a college town, other than singles wanting an activity for themselves.
“I think these types of events are great for college students in particular,” Wickland said. “We’re all constantly bombarded with questions like, ‘What’s your major?’, ‘What are your plans for the future?’,’Are you in a relationship?’ so events like this in my eyes are a good way to forget about those pressures for a little bit and celebrate who you are. You can literally say ‘thank u, next’ to those things in your life that are getting you down and live in the moment.”
Overall, many students enjoyed the event. However, the cold weather on Friday had an effect on the dance attendance.
“I would go to a similar event again,” Roper said. “ I just wish the first one was held at a better time. Since the weather was bad, there were less people there than there could’ve been.”
_Edited by Janae McKenzie | jmckenzie@themaneater.com_