What began in 1993 as a 15-year celebration of a 1979 disco event returns to Buffalo this weekend, with an estimated 7,000 expected to put on their boogie shoes and relive disco and the era in which it peaked.
The annual World's Largest Disco will return to the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center on Saturday night. The celebration of the music and the 1970s became a yearly event beginning in 1993, when the first was hosted to mark the 15th anniversary of a 1979 disco event held in the convention center. The 1993 staging proved so popular that it returned in 1994 and every year following.
Past events have included guest appearances by 1970s icons including stars from popular television shows, pop music and other pop culture. This year's scheduled guest, according to the World's Largest Disco website, was to be announced on the day of the event.
Event chairman Dave Pietrowski says the decorations will also reflect the era, including many with local themes.
"We play video clips during the event," he said. "Old Sabres clips, Bills hits..."
The images also include some of three Buffalo mayors who held office during the 1970s: Frank Sedita, Stanley Makowski and Jimmy Griffin. Visitors to the VIP Lounge, Pietrowski added, will enjoy authentic 1970s furniture which was collected from local agencies and carefully stored for the remainder of the year.
Among the thousands of visitors are many who were born long after disco's prime. Pietrowski was asked why millennials may find the World's Largest Disco so appealing.
"I tell people it's like a costume party where people are smiling and laughing and dancing," he said.
