Chillounge Wanted to Be a Nightclub but Became a Park of Beds Instead

New Times Broward-Palm Beach Calendar Editor Mickie Centrone has the enviable job of knowing about every event that happens within the boundaries of the two counties, and then some. When she attends some of the finest events from a given week, we'll post the details of her travels here. On Friday, she attended Cointreau Chillounge Night at the Great Lawn in Delray Beach.

Chillounge. A very cool concept: A park transforms into a posh, upscale nightclub for the night. But this past Friday, the only chill part of the Chillounge experience was the hundreds of squishy daybeds that covered the Great Lawn's grounds. If you were expecting a nightclub -- and vodka (VIP ran out by 10 and the rum soon thereafter) -- you weren't happy. If you came in knowing nothing about the event -- and with a vodka-filled flask in your possession -- you may have had the time of your life.

But Chillounge also didn't feel loungey. When 20 women over age 50 danced on stage to a live band covering "Brick House," Amy, who was wearing a black-and-white, zig-zag-lined dress, felt like she was crashing a wedding. Later, a DJ spun -- and there was also some fierce, unexpected drumming during the Samba Parade. But a man named Jeff wasn't enjoying any of that. Nor did he care for the Shy Figaro fashion show. "What do you get here?" he mused. "A couple of chairs?" 

Well, Jeff, my new cynical friend, here's a recap for you of what Chillounge offered: