Mullumbimby Paint and Sip Recap: Peacocks and a Mirrorball at the Ex-Services Club

Mullumbimby turned up loud. The Ex-Services Club function room filled with 80 painters singing at full volume from the second the playlist hit, peacock canvases stacked across every table, a mirrorball spinning above the dancefloor and the kind of energy that makes you wonder if anyone actually wanted to go home. Lotti held the mic on stage. Trent ran the easel. James hosted the room. Here's how the Mullumbimby Paint and Sip went down.

80 painters and the Mullumbimby Ex-Services Club function room

Eighty tickets, perfect room. The Mullumbimby Ex-Services Club function room is one of those spaces that looks quiet on paper and becomes a different beast once you fill it. Tables lined up, easels set, mirrorball overhead, stage at one end, bar handy. Eighty was the magic number. Big enough for the room to feel full and the singalong to actually carry, small enough that nobody felt lost in the crowd. Pack the wall and we'd have been on top of each other. Thin it out and the energy would have softened. Eighty hit right in the middle.

What we noticed walking in was that the room already had a vibe before we'd hit play. Mullumbimby crowds tend to bring their own atmosphere. Easygoing, opinionated, ready to sing, completely uninterested in pretending to be cool. Within five minutes of doors open, half the room had already introduced themselves to the other half. By the time Lotti hit the first chorus, the whole place was locked in.

Peacocks on canvas, big colour and even bigger personalities

The painting brief was the Paint Juicy peacock. Big sweeping tail feathers, deep teals, electric blues, rich gold accents and just enough black to make the colours pop. The peacock has been one of our best-loved designs since we first put it on canvas, because the brief gives every painter room to make it their own. Some build the tail as a full fan. Some keep it tight and abstract. Some paint a regal head looking left. Some paint it looking straight at you. One canvas in Mullumbimby went bright pink across the tail instead of teal, which is the kind of call you make at minute 30 of a paint and sip and then commit to like you meant it from the start.

There was big colour everywhere, and yes, big personality to match. Mullumbimby brings that. Painters chatting across tables, comparing peacocks, offering colour suggestions to the people sitting next to them, leaning over to inspect their neighbour's brush technique. Genuine generous energy. Nothing competitive. Everyone happy to be there, everyone happy to make their canvas something to take home and put on a wall.

Lotti on stage, Trent on the easel, James hosting the room

The three-person setup was on full display. Lotti up on stage with the mic, leading every singalong, voice carrying across the function room without effort. Trent on the easel demonstrating each layer, walking the room when painters needed a quick check-in. James hosting the night, working the mic between songs, keeping the energy moving, making sure every table felt seen. Three roles, one room, all pulling the same direction.

That mix changes the feel of a Paint Juicy night. When the singing is genuinely good, the painting demo is steady, and the host is paying attention to the actual room rather than running through a script, the night tips over into something that feels closer to a small concert with paint than a paint and sip with music. Mullumbimby got the full version.

The mirrorball night that didn't want to end

Mullumbimby's defining moment was the back end of the session. Brushes were down. Canvases done. The playlist tipped from paint-along songs into sing-your-lungs-out songs. The dancefloor filled. The mirrorball did its work, lights bouncing across the function room, painters with finished canvases tucked under their chairs, hands in the air, voices loud. Then the night just kept going.

Most paint and sip sessions have a natural wind-down. People settle, drink slowly, gather coats, head out. Mullumbimby didn't do that. The room wanted more songs. More dancing. More mirrorball. We added one. Then another. Then one more. The Ex-Services Club staff started smiling at us from behind the bar because they knew the room wasn't moving anytime soon. We've packed up plenty of paint and sip sessions where the crowd hangs around for one extra song. Mullumbimby hung around for half a dozen.

Staff that made the night easy

Quick note on the venue team. The Mullumbimby Ex-Services Club staff were excellent from start to finish. Drinks moved fast, no queues, refills handled before painters had to flag anyone down. Someone walked past every table at least twice asking if anyone needed anything. That level of attention is the difference between a good paint and sip night and a great one. Nothing kills the energy faster than a painter waiting twenty minutes for a glass of wine. The Ex-Services Club had it sorted from doors open to last call.

What is a Paint Juicy session, exactly?

Three hours, one canvas, no painting experience required. We bring everything: easels, canvases, paints, brushes, aprons, the host, the mic, the lights and the sound. You bring your group, your favourite drink and the willingness to belt out a chorus when the moment lands. Paint Juicy is 100% mobile. We come to the venue, set up around you and pack down at the end.

Public sessions are $59 per person standard. Bottomless sessions at licensed venues are $99 with food and drinks handled by the venue. Most events are 18+. Some are 12+ with a paying guardian along for the ride. Bottomless and nude life drawing sessions are strictly 18+.

Want a private Paint Juicy session in the Northern Rivers?

Public sessions like this Mullumbimby one run regularly across the Northern Rivers and along the NSW north coast. Private bookings are a different format. Our private sessions start at $700 flat for the first 10 guests, then $65 per extra head, with a 10-paid-seat minimum. Hens nights, milestone birthdays, team building, Christmas parties, baby showers, bridal showers, fundraisers and corporate events all run on the same private format. Pick your venue, pick your theme, we come to you and run the night.

Big love to Mullumbimby for bringing 80 painters and twice as many decibels. Big love to Lotti for owning the stage, to Trent for keeping the easel steady through every singalong, and to James for hosting the room like he'd grown up there. Big love to the Ex-Services Club team for making the night easy from doors open to last call. We'll see you at the next one.