On January 30th 2010 at 9pm, the big purple building on the corner that was once referred to by some as “Crack and Pizza”, will open it’s doors one last time for Nocturnal Commission’s and Embedded’s Good to The Last Bop. For the past three decades, The Big Bop has been host to a variety of events catering to youth of all subcultures from punk, ska and goth to being Toronto’s most notorious rave venue. To many, the close of the complex comes as sad news. As one of the few well known all-ages event spaces in city some argue that there will certainly be a decrease in the already limited number of all-ages parties. However many such as myself have seen the close as a kind of blessing and as the possibility of a re renewal in the search for new, cleaner, more positive feeling spaces for parties. There is nothing like the feeling that freshness brings. Instead of a loss to the nightlife community the close should be seen as a new era. The scene has changed over they years and it should be expected that change should take place in all areas.
We all have our favorite Big Bop memories. From talking for hours with our friends in the washroom, telling our moms we were sleeping at friends house while trying not to fall off of the fire escape, drinking until the sun came up and even having sex for some of us (See: i had sex at big bop Facebook group). Some of us made friends or got to know the friends we had even better. Others, for the first time, were able to express themselves in a way that they weren’t comfortable doing in another environment. Hearts were broken and mended and cell phones were lost and found. So as we gather there for one last time on January 30th we should be reminded that the parties made it the place it was, and not the place that made the parties what they were.
<3Sara.