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Baby Loves Disco Finds Its Niche with a New Generation of Parents
There’s a new kind of party that’s taking the country by storm. It’s got all the elements of a rockin’ good time: a cool nightclub, booty-shaking tunes, a disco ball that sparkles non-stop and an energy that spreads like electricity. The only difference is the people you’ll meet here—not 20-something hipsters, but infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their parents.
Baby Loves Disco is quickly transforming the hippest nightclubs into childproof discos, and here in Orange County, parents can’t seem to get enough of it. The afternoon dance party has become somewhat of an ideal solution for those moms and dads looking to take a break from the routine playground circuit.
“The park does get old after a while,” says Newport Beach stay-at-home mom-of-three Kim Leibe “As parents, we’re always looking for new and fun ways to spend time with our kids.”
When she arrived at Costa Mesa’s Shark Club with her two-year-old daughter, Kate, the fun was in full force: classic disco tunes spun by DJs, bubble machines, face-painting, baskets of colorful scarves and egg-shakers, hula hoops, a chill-out room complete with tents, books and puzzles, and even an outdoor yoga room.
 OC native and host mom Andrea Loyko says Baby Loves Disco has definitely struck a chord with many parents. Ever since the first Orange County BLD launched in February, tickets for every 400-person event have sold out—sometimes several weeks in advance. The reason why it resonates with parents is because they can be themselves and not feel bad about it, she says.
“It lets our kids see us in a different light,” says Loyko, 32. “They can say, ‘Wow, my dad or mom’s up there dancing.’ It’s good for kids to see that their parents are people too.”
Launched in Philadelphia in 2004, Baby Loves Disco was the “biggest accidental business that ever happened,” according to founder and new mom Heather Murphy Monteith. When Monteith, 35, hosted an impromptu dance party in her living room, she had no idea it would become the first-ever Baby Loves Disco.
Her friends said she was onto something and the next thing Monteith knew, she was talking to the owner of Fluid, a hip nightclub in downtown Philadelphia, and organizing a full-fledged Baby Loves Disco event.
“I hung up flyers at playgrounds,” she says. “And we sold out the event with 200 people. I was exhausted but happy. Then Tony (Fluid nightclub owner) said, ‘When’s the next one?’”
Today, Baby Loves Disco events can be found in almost all major cities in the U.S.: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando, Seattle, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C. They are even expanding to other countries, like Israel, Japan, the UK, Poland and Sweden.
 For Monteith, the idea behind BLD was always about creating an alternative to the pre-packaged world of entertainment for young kids. Baby Loves Disco isn’t necessarily about “entertaining,” but more about providing an environment to have fun as a family, she says.
Its success is a reflection of what she calls “contemporary parenting”—a mix of hippie values with hip style.
“People who are having kids now are refusing to trade in their identity to become parents,” Monteith says. “It’s sort of a ‘smart parenting’—people tapping into this awareness. Parents now expect to be in the experience with their children, whether it be the food they eat or the music they are listening to. It’s not so separate anymore.” —Jennifer Cho Salaff
Baby Loves Disco sells out fast, so remember to get your tickets early. The next BLD events in OC take place on May 17, June 14 and July 19 from 2 to 5 p.m. $15 adults and children ages 6 months to 7 years (crawlers FREE). The Shark Club, 841 Baker Street, Costa Mesa. 714-751-6428. www.babylovesdisco.com.
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