SEE and DO: Chaka Khan Hacienda

It’s the end of an era or at least a season. The Chaka Khan Hacienda party, which has been hosted by DJ Ree de la Vega at 8ARM since the beginning of this summer, will give its last hurrah this Sunday. A chill getaway with tropical vibes, the event will be soundtracked by DJs Ree de la Vega, Elio Stereo and King Atlas. Papi and Bachi will provide empanadas and plantains, and the bar will be slinging speciality tropical cocktails, $5 well shots and $3 beers. An array of vendors will also be onsite, hawking their wares. Look for jewelry by local artists Birdalupe and Modern Savage, as well as other products by Valerie Finds Vintage, Gun Street Goods and Tchoup Vintage. ATL Craft will have a table selling merchandise and tarot card readings and Wanderlust Salon will be doing hair styles and trims.

Sun., Oct. 1. 4-9 p.m. 8ARM. 710 Ponce de Leon Ave. N.E. 470-875-5856. www.8armatl.com.

For more about the Chaka Khan Hacienda finale, check out our interview with Ree de la Vega below:

What can people expect for the last Chaka Khan Hacienda?

Every week, I DJ and I have a guest DJ, but this week I actually have two guest DJs: one of them is Elio Stereo and the other is King Atlas. We never utilized the new side of the restaurant, so we decided to add on a vendor market. We have 15 different vendors that will be selling vintage clothing, pottery, vinyl, a few artists doing prints, three different jewelry vendors, and more. Usually we have different food vendor every week, so this time we have Papi and Bachi. They do Puerto Rican food like empanadas and plantains.

What’s the theme of the season finale?

I guess you could kind of say it’s an island-themed day party. The thing that I like about it, and a lot of other people do, is that it’s adult fun. You can chill and talk, but if you want to dance and get crazy, you can. It’s no pressure.

What do you hope for next year’s Chaka Khan Hacienda?

Next year, I hope it’s bigger, the word gets out, and more people show up and team up with more local people. We did one party this year where we teamed up with Dashboard Co-op, and they work with the arts community in Atlanta. So I just want to do more stuff like that where we team up with other people.

What are you going to miss the most about the event?

Because I DJ so much, I never really get to go out or hang out with my friends so, really I’ll miss just getting to hang out with my friends. A lot of us in this industry, or even the service industry, we don’t realize how lucky we are that a lot of us get to work with some of our closest friends. Josh, the GM at 8ARM bartends on Sundays, and he’s a close friend of mine, so it’s fun to actually hang out and at the same time make money with your friends.

Eden Getachew