Aidan Vanhoof

Aidan Vanhoof

“You know, I’ve seen people turn into kids again.”

In 2015, Dan McDevitt, a Deptford High School graduate, decided to post his party’s invitation to Facebook, not realizing it meant over 123 people would show up. This party, a reunion of old high school friends, took inspiration from local Catholic schools’ high school reunions, wherein long-lost friends reunited, and new lifelong friends could be created. 

Deptford High School, to some degree, has had some.  But, to McDevitt, constrained by regulations, they lacked soul. They lacked the frenzied energy McDevitt’s teenhood “keggers” exuded. And they lacked precisely the energy McDevitt sought to replicate. 

“I said, well, after 2 years, ‘what are the rules?’ Everyone’s like, ‘you don’t want to do that,’” McDevitt said, angling his hands parallel to depict an endless list. “If I were to do the official school event as the board of education says, they’d be like, ‘here’s your rules and stuff you can’t do.’”

Early on, McDevitt gained experience hosting parties. Growing up in the 1970s, friends and neighbors dubbed him the “king” of house parties; his home, a social hub for neighborhood kids and adults alike. Later, he helped host concerts, revealing a talent for crowd control. 

“As a child, I was the king… my brother had him and his friends come. My sister had all of her friends go. And then I got mine. It was a different time. The whole neighborhood showed up,” McDevitt said. 

Following graduation, rifts between friends widened. Keeping up while maintaining jobs, families, relationships, etc., demanded an explicit reason to do so. Such a party seemed like a perfect solution. 

The idea emerged in the early 90s, but it took another 20 years to realize. It all started in 2015, prompting an ongoing and ever-expanding tradition. 

Now, he holds them yearly, wielding a small team of organizers and drawing dozens of attendees. 

“Every year has its own little, ‘did that happen? Did they get married?’” McDevitt said. “They start all quiet. Two years later, they’re out dancing. A whole social life started with that event.”

The next event will be held on October 3rd, 2026 at 4 p.m. at Spartans at the Elks.