“Endless Night is best described as a Venetian Masquerade Ball, mixed with a Vampire Court, topped off with the energy of a rock concert and the elegance of a burlesque cabaret.” – Anonymous Guest 2011

“The #1 Halloween Party in the World for 2010.” TripAdvisor.com 2010 – see link…

THE ENDLESS NIGHT VAMPIRE BALL™ events are a series of masquerade ball themed soirees produced by Father Sebastiaan of  which began in New York City in 1996 with the “Vampyre Ball of New York” and the “Main Gala Event” the New Orleans Vampire Ball over Halloween weekend.  The name Endless Night comes from the William Blake poem “Ages of Innocence “ in which he states “Some are born to Sweet Delight, Others are born to Endless Night.”

HISTORY

Endless Nights began in the mid 1990s Father Sebastiaan began working for legendary New York nightlife personalities Peter Gatien ( of Limelight fame) and Empress Chi Chi Valenti of MOTHER / Jackie 60 to produce vampyre parties for his fang clients.  Then in October of 1995 Father Sebastiaan attended the Memnoch Ball in New Orleans at Saint Elizabeth’s and was blown away.  Combined with the New Yorker spirit and the inspiration for this event he decided to organize a Vampire Ball in New York for his clients on January 28th at the Bank nightclub.  After many successfull events at Limelight, Coney Island High the main event was moved to New Orleans in 1998 and was dubbed the Endless Night Festival as the events in New York continued off season with great success.  Since these origins Endless Night was listed in 2010 as the #1 Halloween party in the world by TripAdvsisor.com and events being held in New York City, Paris, London, Amsterdam and all leading to the main event every Halloween in New Orleans at the House of Blues. 

THE EXPERIENCE

Many who come through the Gates of the Endless Night never truly know what to expect until after their first event (we call these “virgins” in honor of our Rocky Horror roots).  Burlesque & belly dancers, local and internationally renowned DJs weave a unique auditory experience, opera singers, live bands such as Inkubus Sukkubus, Cruxshadows and gODHEAD, a Mistress / Master of Ceremonies ranging from local celebrities such as Empress Chi Chi Valenti and Lord Chaz of New Orleans preside over a crowd dressed in a variety of costumes from medieval to steampunk to fetish. What makes the Endless Night most unique is the vampire and masque ball theme touched off with a Belle Epoch salon noir from the esoteric renaissance of 1890s France.  Always changing and morphing according to new and diverse interests Endless Nights is purely a unique experience which is unforgettable.

NEUTRAL GROUND

The Endless Night Vampire Ball is an event which is a neutral ground for all alternative tribes to unite in ceremonial pleasure, dance, music, aesthetic expression and performance.  Amongst our patrons we have vampires, Vampyres, Strigoi Vii, Burners, LGBT, performers, burlesque dancers, artists, modern primitives, BDSM, fetishists, latex lovers, those of alternative spiritualities, musicians, drag queens, fashionistas, metalheads, rockers, goths, steampunks and all of our friends and admirers.  All we ask is you come with the intent of an open mind, spend countless hours thinking about your costumes and bring positive energies to share with all.

THE KREWE – see the New Orleans 2012 Krewe here.

The “Krewe” is the production team for each Endless Night event and takes the namesake from the name for a Marti Gras New Orleans float crew.   Each title is a position is a job description and Legacy within the Endless Night history and culture.  All members of the Krewe are expected to support promotions for the event they are involved with and representing the style of the event through being role-models of dresscode and EN culture.

Impresario – comes from the Italian to mean producer of plays or operas.  This position is Father Sebastiaan and he is in charge of the overall Endless Night teams worldwide.
Maestro – is the manager of the event and is in charge of all the details of each specific event and the Krewe leader.
Master / Mistress of Ceremonies – is the MC of the event and in charge of announcing events and hosting the stage.
Communications – is the press person charged with dealing with press and communications with the public.
GateKeeper – is charged with managing the door, enforcing the dress code, ticketing and keeping the guest list.
Producer – a “stage manager” and contact with the performers, DJs and organizing the stage.
Performers – include dancers, DJs, etc, usually change for each event; however some resident performers for specific events are not uncommon.
Volunteers – are individuals selected for varied supporting roles in the event, their duty may be to backup one of the krewe, help promote online, etc.
Guests – are not officially apart of the Krewe but given some of the privileges.  Guests include celebrities who make appearances and enhance the atmosphere.

DRESS CODE – See more info here.

The Endless Night Vampire Ball events are formal masquerade balls and 99% of the event’s quality, character and spirit are within the costume centered dresscode. This is a matter of vibe and security for our patrons so the dresscode is strictly enforced by the GateKeeper.  Plus it is lots of fun!

Check out the Endless Night Galleries or the official Endless Night Facebook Page for examples and inspiration of what to wear;

Fangs and masks are HIGHLY encouraged but NOT required.

YES – Venetian Masque Carnival, Steampunk, Cosplay, Latex, Gothic, Napoleonic, Horror, Medical, Mad Scientist, Fairy Tales, Zombies, Post-Apocalyptic, Cyberpunk, Drag, Angelic / Demonic, Opera / Black Tie,  Moulin Rouge, Boudoir, Victorian, Medieval, Burlesque, Rocktar, Baroque, Witch, Pagan, Norse, Ancient Egyptian, Uniforms, Sci Fi, Fantasy or Formal Western!

NO (we are serious) t-shirts, casual street wear, blue jeans, wife beater shirts, Racist symbols, sportswear, street wear, sneakers, etc.  Unless you are changing in the cloak room and have you cloths in a bad you will be refused Entry WILL BE REFUSED WITHOUT REFUND.

Some of the best costumes are created by those who wear them, again check the galleries and be creative, look for inspiration, develop yourself and evolve! We LOVE to support underground designers who produce the most amazing vampire couture.  This is not the cheesy off the rack stuff but the best quality you can get.  Here are some of our friends and designers.

EVENT TYPE

Endless Night hosts four types of events;

• “Festivals” events are special edition events, usually over a weekend include a Vampire Ball and a Vampire Salon, for example the New Orleans event over Halloween weekend or the European festival every spring.  Festival events are our most exclusive and high end balls with a theme, extreme dress code and Silver, Platinum and Gold tickets with public and VIP events.
• “Balls” are one night events which include a dress code, performers, master / mistress of ceremonies and usually have include 200+ patrons.  Occasionally a salon will be organized before the ball.
• “Salons” are more casual meetup events inspired by the Parisian salon noir events of the La Belle Epoque era and include poetry readings, performers, vendors, etc.  The usually have less than 200 people at any time in attendance.  Each salon is different according to the location and spirit of the city ranging from an informal meetup to an afternoon courtyard gathering like in New Orleans.
• “Night of the Vampires” is an export project designed as a cross promotion with other promoters, guests should not expect all the details of a full scale Endless Night but a hybrid between EN and a local promoter. 
  

FRED SAMEDI “EN MASCOT”

Fred Samedi is the guardian spirit of the Endless Night events and came to Father Sebastiaan in a vision quest in preparation for the Endless Night Vampire Ball of New Orleans in 2007.   Mysteriously artist/designer Chad Savage was able to bring this vision to fruition and Fred became the sigillum for Endless Night events. He is inspired by and reflects the Haitian voodoo Loa, Baron Samedi, the Loa of the dead.  The Loa are voodoo spirits which act as intermediaries between the creator Bondye and the mortal world.

It is traditional for patrons of the event to bring an offering of a small gift of coins, candles, flowers, cigars, rum, black coffee, grilled peanuts or incense to Fred Samedi’s altar at the venue for his blessing on a successful and fabulous event.  He is also the official gatekeeper of the event and wishes all those to be within the dresscode. Often a voodoo priest/ess or member of the Vampyre Ministry will be present to perform the commencement ritual of the ball by calling on Fred Samedi to join us in the ball.

Fred often will play pranks on patrons, encourage people who would never expect to meet to become friends, heals long lost relations between friends and he takes great pleasure in introducing lovers to one another.  One thing Fred is known for is bringing people to events at the last minute, people who would never even think of going to something like a Vampire Ball, and introducing them to the Endless Nights.  How many people have spontaneously come to down to New Orleans and never left!  You can find an example of this with the Fangsmith Maven who came to New Orleans in 1998 for the first NOLA party and never left.

CONTACT

The Endless Night Vampire Ball is a professional business and operating in many countries specifically in Europe and North America.  We are open to co-productions on a case by case basis.  Contact us at the following points.

E-mail: endlessnightvampireball@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/endlessnightvampireball
Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/endlessnightvampireball