How to party for a good cause

As regular readers of my blog would know, I’ve been enjoying getting back out and about on ‘our’ island over the past few weeks, starting to enjoy the spoils of September and lap up the luxury everyone else had been hogging in August. Except (GULP), I actually have a pretty busy schedule. The way things are going here at White Ibiza, we’ll be chained to our desks, iPads and Instagram accounts until at least the middle of November!

But, being the crafty clever party girl that I am, I worked out a way that is totally acceptable to take a few hours away from the computer and enjoy a good old fashioned Ibiza beach party. The secret, is to do it all in the name of charity. After all, you can’t feel guilty if you’ve been giving money (ahem, and time – time is money, right?) to a good cause? The name of the good cause in question was The Global Party, a worldwide VIP event taking place in swish locations in over 360 locations to raise money and awareness for numerous charities (over 1.5million pounds have been raised over the past two years).

Here in Ibiza, while we do of course want to contribute to the wonderful event, we also want to embrace our individuality as an island and do things our way, which is why the event organisers – Babylon Beach Ibiza – created a magical, boho-chic night of fun, food and surprises that ditched the red carpet in favour of sandy floors, swapped the ball gowns for beachwear, the formal dinner for street food stalls and the paparazzi for iPhone snaps. Five-star quality with a grounded, authentic Ibiza feel. And it gave me an excuse to party!

Music for a good cause. All the DJs spinning beats behind the boho, palm-leaf clad DJ booth at Babylon – George Solar, Mr Doris, Chapter and John Beach – donated their precious time and their valuable musical taste for the occasion, filling the airwaves with funk, soul, reggae and laid-back grooves… exactly what a girl wants to groove to with her feet in the sand.

Street eating for a good cause. Oh my god, the smells floating through the beach air were tantalising as I walked into Babylon Beach, where street food stalls (normally in place at Las Dalias as part of the Wax Da Jam Carnival) were set up on the sand, offering everything from pulled pork burgers and Caribbean jerk chicken to noodles and more. Now, a little known fact about me is that I cannot ever say no to a pulled pork burger, and when it’s for charity, well! All the more reason to it my dears… mmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it now, with three different spiced sauces and a lush brioche style bun. Where can I get another one right now this minute?

Fine dining for a good cause. The high-end Babylon Beach Restaurant (adjacent to the Cantina) was also offering a special gastronomic menu for the event… a more chilled out place to wine and dine, savour the flavours that had been designed especially for this evening and use the excuse that it’s all for charity to indulge just that little bit more.

Funk for a good cause. Popular Ibiza band and Babylon Beach favourites Hot Ice brought the funk they’re so renowned for to the party, kicking off a 40-minute live set, weaving their way around the stage, through the crowd and getting involved in the action, inspiring an impromptu dance floor in the middle of the Cantina!

Drinking for a good cause. Cocktails you say? A raspberry daiquiri? Well since it’s for charity… I’ll have two! The Babylon Beach mixologists go above and beyond the call of duty when creating their bespoke cocktail concoctions… you might think it’s a simple daiquiri, but behind the scenes they’ve been dehydrating ingredients and infusing spirits with different flavours for weeks. The best damn daiquiris I ever tasted… and drinking for a good cause means you won’t get a hangover. Honest.

Bellydancing for a good cause. The entertainment just kept on coming all night long, and while Middle Eastern themed music started piping out of the speakers, all eyes turned to the amazing bellydancer who was weaving her way through the tables WITH A SWORD ON HER HEAD. Yes, really. Thankfully no one asked me to participate in this portion of the procedures, as I’d just scoffed a pulled pork burger and was feeling rather tubby!

Champagne girls for a good cause. When I saw a giant champagne goblet on the edge of the shoreline as I arrived, I did wonder if there was going to be some kind of ‘drink for charity’ world record attempt happening later, but (thankfully) said glass was a prop for two of the most supple, flexible and amazing dancers I’ve seen this year in Ibiza, who gracefully contorted and cavorted like mermaids under the light of the full moon.

Performance art for a good cause. Now this was my favourite part of the party. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I understood it entirely, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching this mysterious shadow box unfold into a ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ style dance, evolving into a spider’s web style trap and battle between the two performers. I’ll let the pictures do the talking in this case.

Raffle for a good cause. Many very generous local businesses donated prizes to the Babylon Beach raffle for The Global Party, and at just 5€ a ticket, I thought it was a bargain and purchased many… alas, two of my tickets were just one number away from being winners, but no beguiling smiles or winks could convince the Babylon team to hand it over. Fair enough – I’m sure the real winners will enjoy their champagne, wine, dinner for two and massage much more than I would have (cough splutter not jealous at all!). Maybe next time…