Please fill out the form below if you would like to organize a regional Black Tie Beach event on August 18, 2012. This form should only be filled out by ONE person from your event. I will be posting a list of official links to events in other cities on or around August 6. This form will help me organize things more efficiently.

If you are a first time organizer, please note we do not provide a road map for how to organize your event, but you can easily figure out the logistics by reading the detailed documentation and instructions from years past on our site. Some information you can give to participants is at the bottom of this page, below the registration form.

A couple of guidelines so that everyone is on the same page:

Name of the event = Black Tie Beach

Add the name of your city like this: Black Tie Beach [name of city], e.g. Black Tie Beach Santa Monica. If you are doing your event in a different body of water, it is OK to name it accordingly but please make clear in your description that it is part of the greater event, e.g. Black Tie Lake Chicago, part of the global Black Tie Beach project. Also please note that this event is not a “flash mob.” Please don’t use that term to describe it in print or in interviews.

Attribution

You must include the following sentence of attribution on any site you create to promote your ride (your own website, blog, or Facebook event) – “Black Tie Beach is an annual global event started by Improv Everywhere in New York in 2010.” Please also link to http://improveverywhere.com in this sentence, or next to this sentence.

Here’s the form:

Information to give participants

OVERVIEW

We are going to spend a day at the beach wearing black tie attire. Everything else about our day at the beach will be normal. Please bring what you would normally bring to the beach (towel, beach bag, sandcastle building tools, Frisbee, kite, etc.) The only unusual thing is that we will be doing all of this in black tie, while acting like it is perfectly normal dress for the beach. Plan on swimming in the ocean in your attire (you should try to find cheap/used clothes.)

It is OK if your clothes are stained, damaged, or ill-fitting. Just find the best you can find, but please no jokey outfits. Wear dress shoes as well, but there is no need to wear your shoes into the ocean, unless you want to. We recommend wearing a bathing suit underneath your outfit rather than underwear. Bring a change of clothes if you want for afterward.

You must be wearing black tie attire to attend this mission. No spectators or camera folks. This is about participation.

If anyone asks you why you’re wearing formal wear, reply that you just “felt like dressing up” or “enjoy dressing up at the beach.” Claim that you do not know anyone other than the few people you might be with. Never say it is a prank, stunt, flash mob, or Improv Everywhere event. Keep a straight face!

DRESS

Black tie. For men this means a black or white tuxedo. No other colors. For women this means a long evening gown of any color. No wedding dresses (we don’t want to look like we are a wedding party taking photos.) Men may wear a black suit with a white shirt if they absolutely can’t find a tux.

BRING

Bring as many normal beach accessories as you like, see sample list above. Bring sunscreen. Bring a change of clothes. Bring friends if you like, but be sure to share these instructions with them.