Neurodivergent non-profit CANDI will be throwing open the doors of a cocktail bar in South London on 1 May for a one-of-a-kind inclusive clubbing night. Cocktail Akademia in Bromley will be host to the event by the neurodivergent and disabled community, for the neurodivergent and disabled community.
For the parent of an Autistic daughter who organised it, the evening signifies a safe new space for neurodivergent individuals, families, and friends alike to come share a unique and vibrant evening together.
CANDI: a new neurodivergent clubbing night launches in South London
Fay Hicks and her partner Spyder are the force behind the event. The pair run non-profit and community interest company (CIC) Creative and Neuro-diverse Innovations (CANDI) in Bromley. It describes its mission to:
support the local community and provide employment, training, entertainment and social and communication opportunities for the Neuro-diverse community.
And this is precisely what Fay and Spyder have been doing with the help of many local volunteers.
CANDI was as an initiative Fay and her late brother Rob set up, and who:
had a vision that the many positives of Neuro-Diversity would be recognised and celebrated.
Its work started in earnest when a Bromley-based community café was set to close its doors. Fay’s Autistic, non-verbal daughter Rhiannon, alongside four Autistic friends, had been working for the café. However, the charity in charge of it could no longer afford the running costs. Fay explained how Rhiannon had:
actually cried, my daughter, and she doesn’t really cry. I mean, she’s 32 now. She doesn’t really cry, bless her.
It was then that Fay and Spyder stepped up to save the place she described as more like a cherished community hub than a typical café venue:
So my partner said, well, we’ll do it then.
Today, ‘Rhiannon’s Café’ continues to be that warm place for neurodivergent people in the local area. Spelled out in the iconic typeface of sitcom Friends’ logo, the café sets out its aim to be:
A safe and welcoming space for all. Staffed by our amazing Neuro-divergent team, we can offer you a place to relax and enjoy time with friends old and new.
Now, CANDI is gearing up to branch out into its latest trailblazing venture. It’s launching an exciting new clubbing event. And it’s one it hopes will become a reoccurring new feature of the South London nightclub scene.
Not enough on offer in the social nightclub scene for neurodivergent folks
Fay feels that the entertainment and activity options on offer for neurodivergent folks are few and far between. Moreover, in her own experience as a parent of an Autistic child – and who also identifies as neurodivergent herself – she said that:
normally what I found all the way through her life is that she’s kind of pushed into a church hall somewhere and that’s where you go if you’re neurodiverse or, you know, if you don’t fit in with the regular crowd sort of thing.
It’s why, through CANDI, she and her partner have set up an impressive assortment of local inclusive events.
At Rhiannon’s Café, CANDI has hosted jewellery-making sessions, karaoke, and stand-up comedy nights. Part of this, as Fay sees it, is to set up “an enterprise” for neurodivergent creatives.
In a nutshell, for Fay, what CANDI is all about is uplifting neurodivergent people like her daughter. She explained that:
my daughter has Autism and I’ve mixed with all her friends for years and years and years, and they’ve got so many different talents and different abilities. For example, my daughter is what is classed as non-verbal, but she is now a barista in her own cafe. So I just want to promote that actually people are a lot more able than people think they are.
Alongside this, CANDI also runs an Inclusivity Festival. It was the lead organiser for this in 2024, and is reprising this role for the next event in July. Fay expressed how successfully this had previously gone down amid Bromley’s neurodivergent community:
One of the things that was nicest about the Inclusivity Festival was we had this punk band and they were absolutely going. They really loved it…And the guy at the end said that is the best gig – that ‘I’ve been gigging for over 30 years. And that is the best gig that I’ve ever done’. Because it’s that natural enthusiasm that is able to flow, isn’t it really? When you’re not so kind of held back by what other people think.
However, Fay noticed that when it comes to the social evening scene locally, opportunities and spaces accessible to neurodivergent people are abysmally sparse.
So, the Cocktail Academia clubbing night is an expansion of CANDI’s broader event programme for the community.
An ‘Inclusive Night Club Extravaganza!’
Fay explained that while Rhiannon does go out to the pub and places with her friends, nothing like this exists for her in the local area.
So, after Rhiannon went to Cocktail Akademia for her birthday and had an “amazing time”, Fay chose it as the venue for the event.
There will be a DJ playing all the latest club night tunes. While there’s no particular music genre, Fay teased techno would undoubtedly feature for a night of non-stop dance buzz. CANDI has also organised with Cocktail Akademia for a photo booth so attendees can take their memories of the night away with them.
What’s hugely important to Fay is simply that the clubbing night can be an opportunity for something new. In particular, she said this is the sort of event that neurodivergent people don’t often get to go to safely. So, she mused that:
I think sometimes a little bit of a new experience is not a bad thing.
To make it an accessible event, Fay has coordinated with the venue on a number of details. One includes providing a quiet room for people to get away if they need. Additionally, many of CANDI’s usual volunteers will be there to support throughout the evening.
Moreover, what sets it apart from other inclusive clubbing nights for neurodivergent people is the focus on involving families and friends. Fay expressed that:
I would really quite like to encourage siblings to come along and meet each other because I’ve got another daughter who is obviously a sibling.
And I think sometimes their lives aren’t that easy either because a lot of the focus goes on to the person that has the additional needs. But then I think if you can meet people that are in the same situation as you, then you feel that bond. It’s a natural thing, isn’t it? And you can talk about things and laugh about different situations that if someone else said that you might be defensive.
Come join CANDI for an evening of ‘fun and fabulous’ energy
In everything CANDI does, this is something that Fay feels committed to. At previous events, parents could connect with other parents, as children mixed with other neurodivergent children in safe, supportive environments. So, as she aptly put it:
it’s nice finding your tribe, isn’t it?
Fay hopes as many people as possible will turn out for an inclusive evening of “fun and fabulous energy” for the whole community. She said that she wants it to be:
a great night for everyone that comes along and that it will be something that we can do more of in the future.
And yeah, I mean, what else? More than anything, that they all enjoy themselves.
So between 7pm -11pm on 1 May, CANDI is inviting neurodivergent individuals from across the local area, alongside their carers, families, and friends, to come boogie as their brilliant selves, and enjoy an exciting new experience together.
If you want to be part of CANDI’s night of neurodivergent community joy, head on over to Cocktail Akademia, 29A Widmore Road, Bromley, BR1 1RW. This is an 18+ event. Tickets are going for £10 standard, £7.50 for carers, or four for £35. You can pick one up for yourself and your ‘tribe’ here.
Featured image supplied
