Tequila Sunsets: Aztecs After Dark

Party with the peoples who introduced the world to chocolate. The Australian Museum will be bringing back the booze, the music and the general good times every Thursday night until the end of January for Tequila Sunsets.
Elise Newton
December 01, 2014

Overview

If you're still mourning the extinction of Jurassic Lounge at the Australian Museum, time to stop your weeping; the brand new Tequila Sunsets is riding in on a white horse to rescue your summer nights.

The Australian Museum will be bringing back the booze, the music and the general good times every Thursday night until the end of January for Tequila Sunsets - Aztecs After Dark. In keeping with the current Aztecs exhibition, which follows the blood-drenched rise and fall of the empire, the after-work crowd can enjoy the likes of Mexican food, Latin DJs and a "pinata installation" by Mexican visual artist Sergio Plata (who you may have seen at the museum decorating skulls earlier in the year).

"The tremendous success of Jurassic Lounge has shown us that people enjoy coming to the museum to socialise after hours," says Tequila Sunsets program manager Sophie Masters. "Everyone is time poor ... Opening up the museum after hours gives everyone a chance to catch up with friends after work, enjoy a drink and explore the galleries and exhibitions at their leisure."

Both the name and program suggest Tequila Sunsets is a more chilled take on the after-hours museum event. One absolutely mouthwatering highlight will come on December 11 when — in honour of the blessed fact that Aztecs introduced the world to chocolate — there will be a chocolate and beer tasting session, with beers provided by 4 Pines Brewing Company and acclaimed food scientist Galit Segev discussing the complex appreciation of both vital foodstuffs. Other talks in the program include discussions of ritual sacrifice in Aztec culture, Aztec astronomy and a feminist critique of the indigenous life before and after the empire's fall.

Even after Tequila Sunsets wraps up, Masters says the Australian Museum is dedicated to the kind of community engagement that's enabled your nights of dancing next to dinosaurs. "At this stage [Tequila Sunsets] is being offered for a limited time only, as our Aztecs exhibition must close 1 February, but we may look at other after-hours programming in 2015 — so stay tuned for more."

Tequila Sunsets is on every Thursday from December 4 until January 29, except for Boxing Day and New Year's Day. For more information and to book tickets, head to the Australian Museum website. Admission to the Aztecs exhibition will be two-for-one during Tequila Sunsets, so $12 if you go with a friend.

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