![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Early-Birds-Park-West-Anniversary_0361.jpg\")
Earlybirds Club is coming to Philadelphia on September 6. (Photo byMeagan Shuptar)<\/p>\n
\u201cAs middle-aged women, the majority of our partygoers have a lot on their plate,\u201d she said. \u201cWhether you\u2019re caring for an older parent or a child \u2013 or careers can get pretty intense around this time \u2013 this is a place where you can let it all go for a few hours and move your body.\u201d<\/p>\n
The parties are silly and can have props like bubble guns or themes like prom. Guests can wear anything from sparkly dresses and heels to a simple T-shirt and jeans. You can go alone or in a group. The music is mostly throwbacks from the \u201880s to early aughts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to kind of conjure up maybe that person you were before all the heavy responsibilities hit you,\u201d Baginski said. \u201c[Songs] from your twenties and songs that you probably know all the lyrics to and should not hesitate to scream them while you\u2019re dancing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Think Beyonce, Alanis Morissette and Mary J. Blige. One attendee, Laura Nunn, a 44-year-old educator in Chicago, described the vibe like this:<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say it\u2019s kind of like the Era\u2019s Tour meets Lilith Fair meets that kind of unbridled love and support you find in a women\u2019s bathroom \u2026 and also with your therapist.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting your groove back<\/p>\n
While the label of a middle-aged, female dance party might sound light and frothy, Baginski said she was taken aback by just how cathartic the parties were.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe originally just thought it would just be a fun time,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t really think of it as the dance therapy that it ended up being.\u201d<\/p>\n
It turns out that giving women space to just move their bodies freely and without judgment had a deep impact on guests.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, there are a lot of tears at our parties, because moving your body in that way is not something you do every day,\u201d Baginski said.<\/p>\n
Holly Beck, a 43-year-old legal aid attorney in Philadelphia, has volunteered to be an ambassador for the city\u2019s party in September. She is not a dancer, nor someone who expected to become so involved. However, she quickly drank the Kool-Aid after attending her first Earlybirds party last March in Brooklyn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of things were happening in the country \u2013 in the world at that time,\u201d she said, \u201cand I was a little blown away at how cathartic it was to be in a room with a group of women and femmes just being silly and free with each other and nostalgic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s all kinds of science about the benefits of movement and singing and being with other people while doing those things, so I don\u2019t know why I was so surprised by what a positive effect it had on me,\u201d she added. \u201cBut it\u2019s not just me, but the friends that I went with, we left feeling lighter.\u201d<\/p>\n
While men are allowed to buy tickets, this event is not designed for them. Nunn said it\u2019s a safe space to not worry about any \u201ccreeps\u201d and let go of self-judgment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up in the \u201890s, we saw women in magazines who were pencil thin, heroin chic,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have this natural, built-in system of being self-conscious and always judging ourselves.\u201d At the parties, however, she is able to \u201clet go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nEmily Cromwell, 49, is a \u201cfrequent flyer\u201d in Chicago, due to her loyal Earlybirds attendance. She feels that the parties are letting her reclaim a part of her youth.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent my twenties as a club kid, so to be able to kind of go back and have that joy and that freedom,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re all there to have a good time. We\u2019re all there to dance and sing along with the music when the songs call for it. And there\u2019s no expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n
But even those who never went clubbing can find camaraderie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI do love to dance, I suppose,\u201d Nunn said. \u201cI\u2019m not a crazy nightlife person, but in this setting and in that space, I feel really, really accepted, and I get to experience and live a childhood and early twenties that I didn\u2019t have. It\u2019s just this shot of espresso in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Honoring Susie Lee<\/p>\n
Perhaps the healing nature of the parties should not have been such a surprise, given the club\u2019s origin story. Lee and Baginski originally met in high school, but reconnected to form Earlybirds after their class\u2019 30th reunion. At the time, Lee was battling Stage IV metastatic breast cancer, and wanted to create something that could be an escape \u2014 something light, fun and joyous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201dFor some people, it\u2019s just a fun night out, and that\u2019s totally fine,\u201d Baginski said. \u201cBut for others who are maybe going through some tough stuff, maybe dancing is not first on their list of things they want to do, but once they get there, it\u2019s really stunning how good it can feel, and to be in a supportive room full of women who are egging you on to be ridiculous and move your body in ways that maybe hasn\u2019t seen the light of day since the Clinton administration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, Lee did not win her battle against cancer. She passed away last Sunday<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShe was very public about her cancer diagnosis and everything that she was going through, because she wanted people to see the ugly side of it,\u201d Baginski said. \u201cShe didn\u2019t want to be seen as this warrior who always persevered and never had a bad day. She would record herself crying about a diagnosis or a new lesion showing up in a CT scan. She wanted to be very real and that\u2019s really who she is.\u201d<\/p>\n Baginski said that she has been in awe of Lee since high school, and called her friend one of a kind.<\/p>\n \u201cI think so many people around the world were inspired by her to live in an authentic way,\u201d she added. \u201cAnd Earlybirds is very much about that too.\u201d<\/p>\n And of course, Lee loved attending the parties.<\/p>\n \u201cShe danced the best she could for as long as she could go to our parties, to just sit in the chair and move her cane to the beat,\u201d Baginski said. \u201cAnd she was just funny and beautiful \u2013 just absolutely stunning.\u201d<\/p>\n For those who never got to see Lee speak to an Earlybirds crowd, Cromwell said that she could command the room \u2014 even when her voice was reduced to a whisper. This week, Earlybirds posted a video<\/a> of Lee in such a moment to honor her.<\/p>\n \u201cEven in times of shit and despair, there is always room for joy and connection,\u201d she said to cheers. \u201cThis is a place where we don\u2019t have to take care of anybody,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe have no responsibilities. It\u2019s a place where we remember who the fuck we are. So sing fucking loud. Dance like no one gives a shit, and have a great time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Lee is survived by her husband, Duane, and their 14-year-old son. There is a Venmo account<\/a> to help support her family.\u00a0<\/p>\n Giving back by going out<\/p>\n Moving forward, Earlybirds will continue to honor Lee\u2019s legacy and spirit.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I get up and speak in front of a crowd at every party, I mention her and what an inspiration she is for Earlybirds,\u201d Baginski said. \u201cAnd how she is just the heart and soul and light of what we do, because it was really her that got this started.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlybirds Club gives 10% of their proceeds to a local nonprofit \u2014 Lee\u2019s idea. For the event at Brooklyn Bowl, that money will get donated to Women\u2019s Way<\/a>, a charity that strives for gender equity through research, advocacy and grants.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n General admission tickets are $35.15 and a viewing deck ticket $41.40. Last year, the company donated almost $10,000 to non-profit organizations, and is on track to double that goal this year.<\/p>\n Beck encourages anyone in Philly who is at all curious about the party to check it out.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re thinking about it, that means this is for you,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201cBecause this is really for anyone who feels that lack in their life, and could use a few hours of catharsis and connection with a room full of other women and femmes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe world is heavy right now, and there\u2019s a lot happening,\u201d Baginski said. \u201cThis is a place where you can let that go and just be in the moment and celebrating female friendships, dancing with your girlfriends and smiling.\u201d<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Susie-Laura-Laughing.jpg\")
Friends and founders of Earlybirds Club, Laura Baginski and Susie Lee (Photo by Meagan Shuptar)<\/p>\n