Houseparty is one of my favourite video chat apps. I wrote about it here a few years ago, but it’s had a bit of a moment over the past few months as we’ve all been looking for new ways to virtually connect with friends. The app is typically used for interacting with people you already know, but this weekend it’s hosting a new “In the House” party series—with celebrity hosts! (I presume you don’t know these celebs.)
If you’re not familiar with Houseparty, the app allows you to throw virtual, well, house parties, which are essentially just chat rooms that your friends can drop in and out of provided you’re connected on the app.
The chatrooms come equipped with built-in games you can play while you party, but for me, the real draw is the ability to casually drop into a gathering at any time. Over the past few weeks I’ve stumbled upon a decent number of impromptu “parties,” including one a few days ago, when some of the people from my college dorm randomly ended up getting together.
The “In the House” series will be a bit different. Things officially kick off Saturday at 7am AEST with a party thrown by Zooey Deschanel, during which she’ll be cooking “heavenly bites” and spinning some of her rare record collection. Other party hosts for Friday include Keegan-Michael Key, Tinashe, CHVRCHES, Miguel and Katy Perry.
You can check out the full party schedule on the app’s website. Clicking on an entry will give you more details about what that particular party will entail. Options throughout the weekend include cooking with José Andrés and Christina Tosi or working out with Cam Newton and Terry Crews. In all, 40 celebrities are throwing parties over the course of the weekend.
To take part in any of these you’ll need to download the free Houseparty app. While there are desktop versions, the In the House experience will only be available for iOS, Android and in your browser.
Videos can’t be rewound or replayed on Houseparty, but all of the parties will re-air exactly 12 hours after their original showtimes before they disappear forever. So if you miss something you want to see, be sure to set a reminder to catch it the second time around.
After you leave your celebrity party of choice, I definitely recommend taking the app out for a spin with your friends. It’s a great way to have a casual get together without having to message anyone or set up a specific time to make it happen.
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