A selection of photos from Seattle's largest ever indoor beach party at Kings Hall.

Powers & Mafi
Sean Mafi of Mafi Events (pictured right with Sunshine's co-producer, Ian Powers) had the idea for an indoor beach party about seven years ago while he was still living in his hometown of Stockholm, Sweden. "We don’t really have many beach parties because the weather just won’t allow it, and it’s the same thing here in Seattle," Mafi says. "The whole idea was (to) move it off of the beach to inside of a venue where it’s hot and not rainy, and make it happen." Brooklyn Benjestorf

Sunshine Crowd
After a long struggle trying to find a venue that would allow Mafi to haul in literal tons of sand (Sunshine 2015 utilized 11 tons to create a 50' X 50' beachy dance floor), Baltic Room finally hosted the first Sunshine event in August 2013. Rion Haber, Baltic Room's GM, gave the initial green light and remains part of the team. Brooklyn Benjestorf

Headlining DJ
Simon Shackleton (on the decks here) and Scumfrog headlined the event, creating a large draw for house heads beyond the festivities of the theme. Brooklyn Benjestorf

Michelle, Gene Lee, & Sylvia
Gene Lee (center) provided local support for the party along with Pinky Promise. Brooklyn Benjestorf

Beach Babe
Proceeds from the bar went to Opulent Temple, an electronic music stage production non-profit that sprang out of Burning Man in 2003. The org is based in San Francisco, but they opened a Seattle branch just a few years ago with Sunshine's co-producer Ian Powers as a leader in their ranks. Brooklyn Benjestorf

Shark
Now that he's identified a venue willing to put up with the sand, Mafi hopes to start producing this event once every six months, with intentions of growing it until he reaches his ultimate goal of bringing Sunshine to WaMu Theater. Brooklyn Benjestorf

Elio
Once the party was under way, Kings Hall was completely transformed, and to do so was a labor of love for the production team. All 11 tons of sand were shipped in by hand, with the team getting started at 8 am the day of the party. By the time the space was returned to its original state (a process that started as soon at the event doors shuttered at 2 am), Mafi estimated he would have put in a 24-hour work day. Brooklyn Benjestorf

Hey there, sailor!
"It’s a unique event and I’m happy...because we worked really hard," Mafi says. "We have some other stuff going on that we will announce soon. Maybe not necessarily a sand party, but just as crazy and wild." Brooklyn Benjestorf

Party!
"The underground scene is coming back and I couldn’t be more happy for it," Mafi says. "Especially this year. I mean, I love EDM, I love all kinds of electronic music, but obviously my heart belongs to underground and house, and it’s slowly coming back again and it’s going to be a great year for everyone involved in that." Brooklyn Benjestorf

Pezzner
Kremwerk hosted Sunshine's official after hours as an extension of their monthly Primary party, with music going strong until 5 am. Here, Primary's headliner, Pezzner (far right) relaxes after an incredible set. Brooklyn Benjestorf