The Roaring Twenties at the Casino!
The Casino Lac-Leamy, who recently brought back the fifties and eighties, is now celebrating the Roaring Twenties! Thankfully, it’s not the 1910s… I absolutely hate corsets!
It’s time for the “crazy years”, the intense effervescence, the golden age of jazz, tomboy haircuts and a post-war zest for life.
My evening starts when I am welcomed by two stunning hostesses. I hear jazz sounds coming from the speakers and I see Chicago Theatre’s beautiful marquee behind them. Yes, we are definitely in the ’20s. The hostesses’ short sequined dresses, pearl necklaces and feathered hairbands make my body crave a few steps of Charleston. So I indulge! The hostesses hand me a hairband (red, please!) and we head towards the bar. This is no time for temperance; I order the drink of the day, a Ginger Rogers.
It tastes like a sour popsicle. Not bad… We raise our glasses to the end of Prohibition, buoyed by the brass sounds and jazz beats floating in from the dance floor. We step towards the music and I spot a group of elegantly dressed young people standing by the bar. What are they doing here? My curiosity is piqued… I have to ask. They tell me that they came to the Casino for the music.
They are members of Side Street Dance, a dance school in Ottawa dedicated to swing music. Wow! I’m impressed by the dancers’ grace and energy! They hop around and kick up their legs to the sound of the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies’ Zoot Suit Riot. It looks absolutely effortless.
Down the hall, the slot machine tournament is underway. I take out my Carte Privilèges and try my luck. Unfortunately, I finish in eighth position, so no trip to Vegas for me this time. (Sigh.)
The night is slowly coming to an end and I finally say goodbye to the Roaring Twenties. What a night!
