GREEN IS THE
NEW WHITE

by GERARD DEE

The 15th edition of Montreal’s Bal en Blanc, which takes place on Easter weekend, is going to be different from previous years in one very important aspect—the party is going green. Event producer Michael Armstrong says the idea came to him during the clean-up after the 2008 party.

“I remember at the end of last year’s event,” says Armstrong. “I saw 30,000 bottles of water on the floor, and it was all thrown in the garbage, and I was like, ‘No, you’re killing me!’ It was a shock for me and I thought, we have to do something.”

This year, the organization is doing several things to make the whole event more environmentally friendly, including printing less promotional material, working with recyclable materials for decorations, using less energy-consuming light systems and recycling all those water bottles. Armstrong says that while his focus is on everyone having a good time, he acknowledges that even this event has to respond to everyday realities.

“Bal en Blanc always tries to reflect what’s going on in the world,” he says. “It’s not our main goal, but we always try to be an extension of what people live in their day to day lives. And it’s really important for me as a person to recycle.”

Gay to stay

What’s also important to Armstrong is for everybody to get along. He says Bal en Blanc has always been a mixed event, so it’s imperative for partygoers to respect each other’s space.

“I remember the first two Bal en Blancs, there used to be a disco ball hanging from the roof in the middle of the room, and one side of the room used to be all straight people and the other side all gay people. But people mix more now. And I always try to make sure that there is harmony between gays and straights.”

It’s a delicate balancing act though, and Armstrong admits that gay attendance at the event has been on the decline. “We kind of lost the gay crowd a couple of years ago. In the beginning, there used to be a lot more gay people, and then gay people started to say that it was a straight event. That’s why, in the last four years or so, I decided to reconnect with the gay crowd. So I really make an effort to book the DJs that the gay community likes. And I always make sure that our marketing targets gay people as much as straight people.”

Marketing has been more important than ever this year with the recession, though Armstrong is confident that the event’s primarily local crowd will still turn out.

“So far, the economy doesn’t seem to be affecting ticket sales. We’re still expecting around 15,000 people. There are some people that come from out of town, but they are not the majority. And with the problems in the economy, a lot of out-of-towners stopped coming because they didn’t have the money anymore. So I’m pretty happy that the Bal en Blanc doesn’t depend on this type of clientele.

“And anyhow, I think especially in these kinds of difficult times, people still need to celebrate. But maybe they’re going to recycle the outfit that they wore last year,“ he says jokingly.

White nights

But when asked whether drug use at the Bal en Blanc is a big problem, Armstrong’s joking is over. “Last year, I think [the police] arrested 15 people. Fifteen people out of 15,000 people, the percentage is nothing. I’m sure if you did the same kind of search at a Metallica show at the Bell Centre, you would find a lot more people with drugs. But sometimes it’s more sensational for the media to say that 15 people were arrested at Bal en Blanc rather than say 15,000 people danced all night long and had fun. Every year, we always fight to get the media to consider another angle with this event.”

Clearly the angle at this year’s Bal in Blanc is green, which is why it’s the official complementary colour at the party, though Armstrong says there are always some people who just don’t get the white-party concept.

“Every year there are people who think they’re funny because they come dressed in black. We can’t control that. But it’s not just about their outfits—they’re missing the message that we want to send, that we’re one community, all dressed in white and all together.”