The image of bingo is traditionally that of a big hall with bad lighting, a monotone ball caller and grandmas with 30 bingo cards fastened to a table with adhesive tape. Rhythmix Bingo has changed the old feel of bingo into an evening filled with music, dance, live entertainment, celebrity ball callers and a whole new perspective on the game.

Since its invention in 1929, the game has changed to include prizes for a variety of different patterns. Some games require only one number to be matched, while blackout bingo requires covering an entire card. There are even games that award prizes to players for matching no numbers or achieving no pattern.

Besides these slight variations, the bingo scene has been the same for the past 15 years. Rhythmix Cultural Works, a community cultural arts center in Alameda, has changed the game from an old folk’s activity to a mini casino for the 18 and over crowd.

“I always start with a description of what we do in this way: ‘Would you be interested in coming to a party where there’s a full bar, there’s music playing all night, there are dancing girls on stage, where you can win prizes up to $200…and oh by the way it’s a bingo,” said emcee and designer of Rhythmix Bingo Nights, Pons “Mr. Entertainment” Maar. “That’s why we call it Rhythmix Bingo and not just bingo.”

Rhythmix Cultural Works is a non-profit art center that started up in an old, empty factory building refurbished into a place of fun for the Bay Area community.

Rhythmix Cultural Works founder, Janet Koike, has hosted bingo as a fundraiser for the last four years for Rhythmix to run its facilities and provide different events for the community.

“The people who just think they’re going to a bingo; the kind of bingo they want to go to which is more quiet and it’s just about the game they usually don’t come back because there are plenty of places where they can do that and that’s not what we do,” said Maar.

“People are like ‘let’s have a good time!’ and I feel like my job is to keep that good time going no matter what else is going on.”
All performers and entertainers have years of experience in show business including the ball caller. Pons Maar was in show business for over 20 years doing dance, film, and starring in movies and television shows. “The last thing I ever thought I’d be doing in my career was emceeing a bingo,” said Maar.

People come dressed in costumes and can win cash prizes. Plush toys are showered over the audience as party favors known as the “onion top” of the night. “They just love it,” said Koike.

“It’s a community builder and each one is sponsored by a different local business and they pay for the prizes and they become the centerpiece of the evening.”

On June 11 an Italian Restaurant, C’era Una Volta, meaning “Once Upon A Time,” where the chef came by and dressed up like Clint Eastwood, sponsored a themed Wild West Bingo night. “One woman said it was like a mini vacation and another guy said it was like an acid trip,” said Koike.

The next Rhythmix Bingo is Aug. 13, with the theme of Rock and Roll. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are on sale now for $25.