Alcohol free parties Juice cleanse gone groovy

Cologne · The new trend on the street in Cologne? Partying with juice, not alcohol.

 The new party-trend in Cologne is called “Detox-Night.”

The new party-trend in Cologne is called “Detox-Night.”

Foto: dpa

The dance floor is crowded, and all of the party guests are stone-cold sober. The bartender at the counter is mixing rice-milk juices with broccoli and bananas. Beer and other alcohol is prohibited. Not even Coca Cola is on the drink menu. This new party-trend in Cologne is called “Detox-Night.” One thing is for sure: after a night at this party, no one will go home sick- unless, of course, they can’t eat vegetables.

“Do I have anything stuck in my teeth?” 24-year-old Denise asks a friend and smiles widely. The student had already tried a green, grainy smoothie and was now in line for a second drink. The mixer buzzes. Finally, bartender Ronald pours the liquid mass into a cup. Denise is delighted. “I’m trying mostly to eat as healthily as possible. I thought- why not go partying without alcohol?” she says.

The approximate 300 guests have a similar view. “Here, you aren’t even tempted to drink alcohol,” remarks Sascha. “My friends tell me, ‘you can handle one more beer!’ but then I have a hangover the next morning.” Laura, who came with her workout group, says “You don’t have to be ashamed of drinking a soda.” And the owner of the club, Stefan Bohne, sees another benefit: “There aren’t any issues with aggressive, drunk guests.”

‘Detox’ is short for detoxification. For many years now, these regimens have promised a cleansing of the body’s toxins. Apparently, the cleansing party-trend began in the USA. “In Scandinavia, these non-alcoholic parties are also very ‘in’,” according to Jonas Höhn, a 26-year-old media manager who organizes the Cologne Detox-Party with a friend from university, Martin Bressem. Both men are avoiding alcohol long-term. “You don’t have to decide to choose this lifestyle right away. But our party offers you a night of fun without alcohol,” explains Bressem, and takes a sip of his coconut water.

This style of partying hasn’t taken hold yet in North Rhine Westphalia (NRW), though it has already been trendy in Berlin for quite some time. These parties are called “Morning Gloryville,” but instead of taking place in the evenings, they start at dawn. Instead of serving coffee to tired guests, there are smoothies. Instead of running before work, guests dance into the new day. Living a healthy lifestyle is a recurring theme throughout the night in Cologne. “Do you still eat bread? Nutella?” Marcus, incredibly tan, in his mid-forties, asks another guest. “No, but last week I had a Toffifee-relapse (toffee candy),” he confesses.

Ulrich Reinhardt of the Institute for Future Studies in Hamburg believes “Detox parties cater to the many members of society who strive to live healthier lives. You are able to meet those who share your values and share your aspirations.” Reinhardt doesn’t think it will be harder for guests to interact without alcoholic beverages. “It should be much easier to start a conversation- though perhaps not with the opposite sex.”

Next time, Marcus and his friend will opt to leave their girlfriends at home. “There are definitely more women at this party. And most of them are incredibly good-looking! No need to drink to make anyone look more attractive.” (Orig. text: Katja Heins: translated by Geena Kloeppel)

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