1 Paradise Sunset Sessions on the Monkey Loft Rooftop For the second year in a row, this weekly hurray was a summertime hump day reprieve, running from 7 to 11 p.m. and featuring resident DJs Xan Lucero and Mikey Mars, who warmed up the decks before a stellar selection of local house DJs would take over just in time for sunset.

2 Dirtybird BBQ You might not think you could pack out a parking lot in SoDo the day after the Fourth of July, with temps in the 90s, but nothing was stopping fans of San Francisco-based record-label Dirtybird—free water stations and a staff wielding many a watergun made the all-day showcase a riveting and memorable affair.

3 Q Nightclub Three-Year Anniversary Capitol Hill played host to an absurd number of massive names last year thanks to the superior booking talent at Q Nightclub, but the anniversary honored some of the club’s favorite residents and a one-night-only headlining act, Polaris, featuring DJ/producers Sean Majors (who’s also the club’s Creative Director) and Justin Hartinger, and vocalist Nikki Wright with support from Justice Calo Reign.

4 Menagerie Pizza Party at Kremwerk Let’s face it: pizza is pretty much the best thing ever, especially for us late-nighters and dance floor die-hards. The November installment of this monthly shindig was an homage to all things ‘zaw, and event producers Ben Garrison (Bgeezy) and Shannon Colleen even gave away free slices to early arrivers.

5 Nark Magazine’s Into? Drag Ball The jaw-dropping looks at this rowdy runway competition were the things great acid trips are made of—the concluding showdown between the finalists was like something from a fever dream. Into!