Johnathan Walker:Welcome to 'Baichella,' a mind-blowing, Beyoncé-themed 13th birthday party

Have you ever had fun like this?Johnathan Walker

Tricia Smith Brown, an event producer, threw her daughter Bailey Brown an extravagant 13th birthday party on Dec. 15, dubbed “Baichella.” Then videos of the event took over social media.

The party was inspired by Beyoncé's 2018 performance at the Coachella music festival and the accompanying movie “Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé,” which served as an ode to the culture at Historically Black colleges and universities. 

Smith Brown lives just outside of Los Angeles, California, and is known to throw mind-blowing events, but videos of Baichella and its 250 guests took social media by storm. She says the theme was inspired by her family’s love for Queen Bey.

“My kids love Beyoncé and Bailey in particular," she says. "I have this video of her singing ‘Flawless’ when she was like 2.”

Smith Brown attended Howard University and was moved by the Coachella performance.

“I was thinking kind of along the same lines as Beyoncé, like how do I infuse culture into (Bailey's) celebration?” she says.

From the decor and attire to the choreography and layout, the party brought Beyoncé Coachella performance back to life. 

"All of our guests’ mouths were on the ground," she says. “It was a pink haven and everything and various tones of pink. We had a food court (with local vendors), we had the bleachers. We obviously had an amazing mocktail bar. We had games and more.” 

Planning 'Baichella'

Smith Brown was not only particular about the look and feel of the party but also recreating Beyoncé's performance. 

She was on the hunt for young dancers and the perfect drumline to help execute the performances.

She came across the Divas of Compton and the Drummers of Compton. Both groups are a part of an organization called "1ShineYouth" started by a woman named Kehli Berry. It gives underprivileged youth a place to perform dance, acrobatics, gymnastics and drumming.

“We practiced at the facility for weeks to get ready for the performance," Smith Brown says. "I don't have any words for their professionalism, for their talent, for their skill set. They really brought that thing to life.” 

Smith Brown even teamed up with Jamal Josef, who actually choreographed sets for Beyoncé's historic Coachella performance. 

“I definitely incorporated some things (from Bey’s set)," he says. "I choreographed ‘711’ and like the whole ‘Bugaboo’ section. And then I also did ‘Say My Name,’ so I was able to incorporate those.”

Greek life is a large part of the culture at HBCUs and fuels the camaraderie around campus. Beyoncé made sure to highlight this during her show, and Josef made sure this authenticity was kept for Baichella.

Josef is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. He says the dancers learned majorette-style moves and stepping from him. And he brought on other adults from Greek organizations to help teach the moves as well.

The performers looked the part, too.

“I did all of the costuming with myself and a young lady named Masha (Berenboym) of Artists Creating Entertainment," Smith Brown says. "She helped me to embellish all of the costumes and get them really on point and to match the Coachella experience."

Even the invitations were sent out in true Bey fashion. 

“We sent out an invitation, and the only thing that it really said was ‘Baichella.’ It did not have any details about a performance or about what was going to take place,” she says.

A night to remember

The extravaganza was held at NYA Studios in Hollywood, California. It started at 7 p.m. and performances kicked off around 8:15 p.m. 

There were a total of 45 steppers, dancers and drummers who performed over six sets, joined by 13-year-old Bailey for most of them. Some of the steppers were from Beyoncé's actual Coachella performance, Smith Brown says.

Guests did not leave empty-handed, either. Continuing the HBCU theme, a bookstore carried “Baichella” and "Bailey’s 13th Homecoming" merchandise. Items included branded shopping bags, sweatsuits with matching hoodies and pants, T-shirts, socks, trucker hats, Stanley cups, tennis rackets, balls and notebooks.

All of the items were free. 

All the effort paid off for Bailey, Smith Brown and their guests.

“Everyone was blown away," Smith Brown says. "We had kids that were 2 years old down to my 90-year-old grandfather in the building, and every single person had a good time.”

Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network's Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.