Turning Fear into Laughter: Warm Cookie’s Post-Election Dance Party

Evan Weissman calls in from his car, driving up from Colorado Springs after leading a weeklong non-violence seminar. The 37 year old is a busy man, not just as a new father and frequent guest speaker, but as the founder of a one-of-a-kind Denver “Civic Health Club” called Warm Cookies of the Revolution.

After its highly successful Stomping Ground Games, a year-long whistle-stop celebration of Denver neighborhoods, Warm Cookies kicks off its fifth season with an epic post-election dance party.

It’s Halloween and election season, and both are charged with fear. Why is that?

Well, what motivates people? A hope that things can get better or a fear that things can be lost. Our country’s policies and leaders have failed to serve so many people. The main way life has improved is that we can buy more stuff, and meanwhile, we’re fed the idea that someone is going to take that stuff away. Fear is natural when we’re told we’ll lose the things we’ve accumulated.

How does Warm Cookies interface with the culture of fear?

EW: By using humor and a weird take on things, we’re able to look fear at the eye. Look, no one wants to talk about sexism or terrorism. You bring up these ideas or annoying, hard topics like budgets — there’s fear around these concepts. So we say “No. f*ck it! We’re going to deal with it in a fun way.” We’re looking behind the mask of the Wizard of Oz, by coming at it through humor and creativity. You fight fear with love, and that sounds cheesy, but one form of love is embracing each other and laughing.

What is Warm Cookies’ take on voting?

EW: We believe you should vote every day, not just every four years. The people who sell us Pepsi and Coke are the same marketers who sell us candidates during the election. I don’t mean to be cynical, but it’s true. I think we need to ask: Where are our allegiances? How do we spend our time? How do we spend our money? How do we celebrate each other?

That relates to the dance and the party. Look, it’s the Friday after the election. We’re having a party because we have to get back to work tomorrow, regardless of who wins. It’s important to get together and have a little bit of fun before we get back to work.

What can we expect at the party?

EW: You’ll hear music from Mile High Soul Club and The Pink Hawks. There will be delicious food from a co-op of women who cook in Elyria-Swansea. We’ll have piñatas and adult beverages. Pundits always analyze what a president does during the first 100 days, so a handful of organizations will share 1–2 action steps we can take during the first 100 days, and people can commit to action steps on a postcard, which I’ll mail to them three months later.

We’ll even have a side room where, if folks feel stressed or pissed off about the election, they can strategize on potential action, but ultimately, this is a big dance party!

Warm Cookies of the Revolution’s Dance Party The Election is Over, Tonight We Dance is Friday November 11, 7±10 pm at the McNichols Building, free to all with a suggested donation is $5±8.