Boogie Universal would not exist without bringing together the talent, passion, and energy of the community. We are, and have been since the beginning of the collective, volunteer run - meaning that if any profit is made it goes directly into the fund for throwing bigger and better parties.

We are always looking for new faces to join our extended family of dedicated volunteers. There are a multitude of ways to bring your talent in - by helping us before our events to build structures for the dance floor, painting, making decorations, organizing events, promoting with flyers and fundraising, as well as helping on the day of the event to set up, spin records, run tickets and merch booth, work security and clean up at the end.

If you are interested in joining, please contact Erik at uprivererik AT gmail DOT com for info on when and where our meetings take place. However, one of the most important jobs is to come to our events, have a good time and dance!

Left: Erik and Libby painting pink coral for the undersea stage at Animal Kingdom.






Hi I'm Erik and I'm a Boogier. I grew up having a lot of fun in Bellingham. As a teenager I lived for all-ages shows during the Northwest grunge boom, then hit the road for Dead tour, rainbow gatherings, and festivals. Soon I was spending more time on the road than anywhere else and traveling to more and more distant countries. I eventually settled a second home in a little village community in Mexico where music and community celebration where as vital to survival as tortillas and salsa.
As my adventures evolved, I again began establishing roots in Bellingham again. My music tastes and my idea of a party had changed into something I couldn't find at the time in Bellingham. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one that felt that way. Johnny, Ryan, Jeremy, and Brandon and a few others seemed to be thinking the same thing at the same time. We began spinning music and dancing in our living rooms. Then after searching just about every single space big enough for a handful of people, we found Pacific Dance Works, printed flyers, and watched the Barefoot Boogie form on its own before our eyes.

Now it's been three years since that first big event and most of our core group is still involved. Many others have come and gone, some still come and go, and others are just coming in. The vision has changed little since we first talked about throwing parties, but the execution seems to be getting stronger.

I've been deeply inspired by the magic I've seen in the community of Burning Man over the last few years, as well as other community movements I've particpated in locally and beyond. I hope to do my part to spread that inspiration to others. I hope to see the Boogie lean more and more into ART of many mediums and expressions. I want to see the Boogie on the Playa and also the Playa in the Boogie. I want to see the Boogie continue to grow as an opportunity for people to network with their community and not only throw the best parties Bellingham has ever known, but also be a hub for the beautiful and creative individuals that make up our little part of the world.

Hi there My name is Jeremy Ball, aka DJ Jeremy. My roots lie in Bellingham and I grew up on lummi Island. I have spent much of my life on varrious adventures and got into traveling around five years ago. A year ago I traveled around the world and I have been going to Mexico and Central America for most of my winters. They can be a little to long in town. I helped with a filming project in the Peruvian Amazon and recorded in thailand and India. I love music dancing and culture. The Barefoot Boogie was born out of the necessity for good nights of dancing and sharing a vision of art and performance. I met Erik in the Jungles of Mexico and turns out we grew up near eachother.

My intrest in electronica grew from great nights out in Mexico and returned with me when I returned to Bellingham and hooked up my new friends and what becme the Boogiers. We were ready to make what we had in Meixico turn into a reality in Bellingham and after some greeat Parties the Barefootboogie was born. It's gone through some great times and grown than spread apart while we're traveling. Our energy has lead us into some new directions and recently has been really moving including changing the organization some. hence the new name. we started going on summer outings together which lead us to Shambala near Nelson BC, these are great summer parties and a must for all night dancers. Than Off to Burning man a new experince to me this summer and I must say I'm a changed man. I hope to stay as much involved as I can. I am always wanting to see more art and performance at our events in the future.

Jessica Burchiel - Professional person and student, amateur worker bee and local music groupie. Doing what I can to support the people and the causes I care for. Favorite color - purple. Favorite sunset - bellingham bay, every day, from my apartment. Dislikes - noise complaints, running out of coffee in the morning, or out of space on my camera.

Mitchell Vega, aka DJ Neural Net has been spinning, dancing and promoting in the Pacific Northwest electronic dance music scene for the past few years and has been volunteering with the Boogie for over a year. His interests include techno, computers, subversive art and positive vibes.


We still need bios for most of our volunteers! If you're not on here, send a brief writeup to neuralnet at gmail dot com or we'll just have to make something up and it might not be pretty!